The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 11, 2026
Filed:
Nov. 03, 2023
Airbus Operations Gmbh, Hamburg, DE;
Airbus Operations GmbH, Hamburg, DE;
Abstract
A system for checking an aircraft or spacecraft surface structure includes a ground vehicle having a drive, a manipulator arranged on the ground vehicle, having multiple movement links articulately arranged relative to one another, an inspection device arranged on the manipulator, proximity sensors, and a control unit. The proximity sensors are distributed on the manipulator, divided into multiple zones, and configured to acquire a distance to an object. The system inspects the surface structure by successively moving the inspection device along the surface structure. The control unit records distances acquired by the proximity sensors and activates the drive and the manipulator based on the acquired distances such that the inspection device is placed at successive inspection positions at a predetermined distance to the surface structure, and a sufficient distance of the ground vehicle and the manipulator from the surface structure and any objects surrounding the surface structure is maintained simultaneously.