Robots "cockroach", the new concept of Rolls Royce to repair aircraft engines – 18/07/2018

The engine giant, the British Rolls Royce, is in full development of a series of small badroach-shaped smart robots. This particular project aims at using them in aircraft engines and, in this way, to repair with them the possible failures within even remotely.

Swarm robots are about the size of a badroach – about 10 mm in diameter – they would carry small cameras that provide live video transmission to the operator, allowing them to complete a quick visual inspection of the engine without having to remove it from the aircraft. Rolls Royce collaborates with engineers from Harvard and Nottingham Universities

According to Engadget published, in addition to these Swarms, Rolls-Royce also showed another robot similar to the periscope (Inspect robots) that could be integrated into an engine and so be alert to everything repair to do.

Des Similar robots were also exposed to snakes, and their flexible design would allow them to travel through an engine, something like an endoscope, and then work with the swarms to make repairs.

Finally, Rolls-Royce showed that its remote controllers could be installed in a motor by almost everyone and that an expert can remotely control them. This would prevent a business specialist from going to the location of an aircraft to make certain repairs.

"While some of these technologies, such as Swarm robots, are still far from becoming a daily reality, others, like the robot's remote erasure, are already Test and will begin to be introduced in the next few years, "said James Kell, a specialist of the British company.

Currently, Rolls Royce is developing the Trent family of engines the clbad of turbojets they are based on engine RB211. The different versions of the Trent are in service on the Airbus A330, A340, A380 and Boeing 777, and variants are being developed for the new 787 and A350.