Close Enough to Touch: Protecting Aircraft During Painting

Using OnGuard Collision Avoidance to protect aircraft while giving painters precise access to the work surface.

Painting aircraft requires skilled crews to work quickly and accurately from movable platforms positioned close to the aircraft surface. When limitations in an existing system restricted movement and created production delays, the manufacturer turned to Concept Systems for a more precise aircraft collision avoidance system.

The Problem: Crashing into Planes

To paint each aircraft, crews work from eight movable platforms positioned around the plane. Painters control the platforms themselves, allowing them to move close to the aircraft surface while the system prevents the equipment from making contact.

The existing collision avoidance system relied on a coarse 3D model of the plane. Because the virtual representation lacked precision, the system sometimes restricted platform movement unnecessarily, preventing painters from getting exactly where they needed to work.

Adding a new aircraft model also required several days of system updates, taking the painting hangar out of service and creating costly production delays.

The Solution: OnGuard Collision Avoidance

Concept Systems integrated various existing technologies to build an efficient automated collision-avoidance system. One of the breakthroughs was finding software developed at the University of North Carolina called the Proximity Query Package, which can detect approaching collisions between two different computer-generated objects. Integrated with OpenGL and the client’s design software, OnGuard creates precise virtual representations of the aircraft and surrounding equipment. The system uses those models to determine allowable platform movement and prevent collisions in real time.

Because the virtual representations of the aircraft surfaces are extremely accurate, the problems that had plagued the old system and caused painters to lose time through unexpected movement limitations have been eliminated. With the new system, the time needed to accommodate a new plane design was more than cut in half, now requiring only one day for all three hangars. Interaction between any stacker platform and the aircraft can be viewed on a computer screen in real time. And the system is easier for the client to update, as well, to account for changes to stacker platforms, for instance.

The Results

OnGuard provided a more precise and flexible approach to collision avoidance, giving painters better access to aircraft surfaces while protecting valuable equipment.

• Reduced new-model setup time from several days to one day across all three hangars
• Eliminated unnecessary movement restrictions caused by the previous system’s coarse 3D modeling
• Provided real-time visualization of interactions between stacker platforms and aircraft
• Simplified system updates as aircraft designs and platform configurations changed

OnGuard helps protect robots, equipment, and high-value assets by monitoring movement and preventing collisions in real time.

Part of a Larger Aerospace Controls Upgrade

The OnGuard collision avoidance system was one component of a larger controls modernization project for the aircraft paint hangar. Explore how Concept Systems integrated collision avoidance, process air controls, crane positioning, drives, and other technologies into the complete solution.

Explore the Aerospace Paint Hangar Controls Upgrade →

Project Details