In Augmented reality news
September 23, 2021 – GridRaster Inc., a provider of cloud-based (XR) extended reality platforms that drive augmented, virtual and mixed reality (AR / VR / MR) experiences for businesses, recently announced that it has been awarded a Phase II SBIR contract by the United States Air Force (USAF) to improve the maintenance of aircraft wiring. The project will support the USAF’s CV-22 Osprey fleet of aircraft (pictured above) by providing a set of precision augmented reality (RA) tools.
According to GridRaster, the complexity of USAF aircraft wiring continues to increase with the launch and deployment of advanced communications, integrated aircraft survival systems, and aircraft data collection systems. As a result, maintenance technicians must maintain complex wiring installations and must know all the variants of the systems in which they work. With V-22 variants of the Osprey aircraft expected to be in service beyond 2040, capacity improvements and preparedness initiatives are program priorities, not only for the USAF, but also for the Marine Corps and Navy.
As part of the Phase II effort, GridRaster states that it will develop a high-precision AR Toolset prototype and test and evaluate system capability to facilitate the repair and maintenance of CV-22 engine nacelle wiring ( a motor gondola is essentially the housing). The company added that the wiring of the USAF CV-22 gondola has been a major degradation of readiness, accounting for approximately 60% of the overall maintenance effort. The solution proposed by GridRaster will allow CV-22 maintainers to troubleshoot, repair, and train more efficiently in an operating environment.
“We are excited to work with the United States Air Force and specifically with the CV-22 Program Office at NAS PAX River,” said Rishi Ranjan, CEO and founder of GridRaster. “We hope to offer an affordable AR toolkit based on an open system infrastructure, by recognizing patterns and providing accurate and intuitive visual overlays of complex cabling installations.” He continued, “With the proposed solution, our goal is to solve the need for the CV-22 wiring maintenance mission by reducing maintenance working hours, eliminating errors and improving the accuracy of installation of the wiring harnesses of the aircraft in congested spaces of the aircraft using a solution. which can scale perfectly to support other avionics systems and aircraft variants. “
For this endeavor, GridRaster will partner with Avatar Partners, Inc., which specializes in the development of immersive, military-grade XR immersive training and work aid solutions to provide a end-to-end solution. GridRaster will provide the basic underlying software infrastructure, while Avatar Partners will design and develop an AR application for CV-22 cabling maintenance.
For more information about GridRaster and its XR platform solutions, click here. To learn more about Avatar Partners and their augmented reality solutions, click here.
Image credit: U.S. Air Force photograph by first-class aviator Nathan LeVang / Avatar Partners