Donecle Explained

Donecle
Type:SAS
Industry:Aerospace
Founded:September 2015 in Labège, Haute-Garonne, France
Founder:Yann Bruner
Matthieu Claybrough
Josselin Bequet
Alban Deruaz-Pepin
Hq Location City:Toulouse
Hq Location Country:France
Products:Autonomous aircraft inspection UAVs

Donecle is a Toulouse-based aircraft manufacturer which develops autonomous aircraft inspection UAVs. The company offers single UAVs and swarms of UAVs to visually inspect the exterior of airliners.

Autonomous navigation of the UAVs is based on laser positioning technology. UAVs take pictures of the aircraft with high resolution cameras. Image processing and machine learning algorithms analyse the images. The system then provides a diagnostic of the aircraft surface to a qualified inspector, who reviews the images and validates or refutes the provided analysis.

The company works with airlines such as Air France Industries-KLM and aircraft manufacturers such as Dassault Aviation and is one of the players in the field of aeronautical maintenance automation.

History

Background

Aircraft manufacturers, such as Airbus, Boeing and ATR, and certification bodies, such as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), require regular visual inspections of the entire external surface of the aircraft to assess the condition of their structures. About 80% of the required inspections are visual.[1] All aircraft are visually inspected prior to each flight, as part of scheduled maintenance operations and after unplanned events such as a lightning strike, hail storm or other possible external damage. One possible solution to improve the traceability of these operations and reduce costs is the robotization of aeronautical maintenance and its visual inspections.[2] [3]

In January 2013, the French research and development project Air-Cobot began to develop a collaborative mobile robot capable of inspecting an aircraft during maintenance operations. Carried out by the Akka Technologies group, this multi-partner project involved research laboratories and companies, including Airbus.[4] [5] In 2014, in partnership with the Bristol Robotics Laboratory, the British airline easyJet became interested in drones guided by technicians to reduce the inspection time of aircraft fuselages.[6] [7]

Foundation

After thirteen years in the design offices of the European aircraft manufacturer Airbus on the A400M and A350 aircraft with metal and composite materials,[8] Yann Bruner, an engineer at Mines ParisTech with a PhD in Mechanics and Materials, noted that maintenance inspection reports are often incomplete for various reasons such as missing photographs, missing information, or illegible handwriting. He considered the use of drones to perform the inspection automatically.[9] He contacted Matthieu Claybrough, who was involved in UAV projects at the Institut supérieur de l'aéronautique et de l'espace.[10] A graduate of the Ecole Polytechnique, Claybrough has a specialization in innovation management, aeronautics and control theory.[11] [12] For three years he worked on the design of automatic pilots for aircraft, including helicopters for Thales Avionics, an avionics supplier.[11]

Two other partners joined them in the project. The first was Josselin Bequet, a graduate of the École supérieure de commerce de Paris (ESCP Europe) and the City, University of London who specializes in management and finance. The second was Alban Deruaz-Pepin, who graduated from the Institut Supérieur de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace (ISAE-SUPAERO) and specializes in computer science and control theory, and holds a private pilot license. They founded the startup, Donecle, in September 2015 and developed an automated inspection procedure for aircraft with a swarm of UAVs.[13] In June of That same year they presented their concept at the Paris Air Show.[9] [14]

Product

Although regulations and weather make it difficult to use UAVs in airspace near airports, Donecle developed a product that works both indoors and outdoors, using a laser positioning system for its UAVs.[10] During the autonomous flight, cameras mounted on the UAVs photograph the exterior surface of the aircraft. Algorithms analyse the images and provide a diagnostic report about the aircraft surface. A human operator chooses a flight plan for the required inspection and a qualified inspector then validates the reports.[10]

Compared to human inspections that require scaffolding, inspection of the outer surface of a typical airliner with drones takes about twenty minutes versus six to ten hours and requires one person versus ten to twenty.[7] [15] [16] The cost of taking an aircraft out of service can run at approximately $10,000 per hour, which makes UAV inspection cost effective.[8] [16] Donecle has filed patents for this process.[13] [17]

Development

Inspections use a set of mobile Internet of Things (IoT) sensors,[18] so at its inception in 2015, Donecle joined the Connected Camp, a business incubator in this field, located in the IoT Valley of Labège, a town south-east of Toulouse.[13] [19] The incubator aids the search for funding and provides some common equipment such as 3D printers.[20] [21] Donecle is a member of the Aerospace Valley competitiveness cluster, the Robotics Place cluster and the Hardware Club.[22] In October 2016, it became a member of the Starburst Accelerator, the world's largest incubator for aerospace startups.[23] [24]

In 2016, the company announced a partnership with the French-Dutch aeronautical maintenance group Air France Industries-KLM Engineering and Maintenance (AFI-KLM E&M).[13] [25] The UAVs were tested on their aircraft to verify the marking and detection of defects. At the end of this testing and verification phase, AFI-KLM and Donecle planned to jointly deploy the equipment at AFI-KLM E&M maintenance sites.[22]

At the end of 2016, DDrone Invest, an investment company controlled by the French company Delta Drone, invested one million euros in Donecle. With this capital injection, the company became a shareholder, alongside the founders.[13] [26] At the Paris Air Show in 2017, the company announced that it was starting to sign its first contracts with air carriers and planned commercial deployment by the end of the year.[27] During the year, the startup was planning to increase its workforce and to attract international clients.[28]

In 2018, at the ADS Show, a trade show for aerospace and defense maintenance, Donecle conducted a drone inspection of a Dassault Rafale, the French multirole combat aircraft.[29] [30] In the future, the company intends to offer other types of inspections, such as quality control of exterior paint and the evaluation of corrosion. Planning is also underway for applications outside aviation, such as rail transport, shipbuilding and wind farms.[8] [13]

Technologies

Autonomous navigation

The Donecle UAV is a coaxial push-pull octocopter.[31] The UAVs position themselves relative to the aircraft with laser positioning technology. This allows them to operate in enclosed areas, such as hangars, without the need for geolocation with Global Positioning System (GPS).[10] [25] [32] Algorithms compute in real time the position of the UAV relative to the aircraft.[10] [25] The sensors used for autonomous navigation also ensure safe operation, by preventing collisions with aircraft, human personnel and equipment.[33]

The navigation plans and the number of UAVs employed in each case depend on the aircraft model to be analyzed. A single UAV is enough for a small airplane while up to six UAVs can be used for an Airbus A380.[32] As the inspection missions are always the same, the routes are pre-programmed in the software installed on a tablet computer. A human operator does not need to pilot the UAVs, but only launches the mission and then the UAVs fly autonomously around the aircraft.[10] [25] They normally fly at a distance of one meter from the fuselage.[10]

Visual inspection

The high-resolution cameras mounted on the UAVs photograph the surface of the aircraft. Image processing algorithms perform the first step of detecting any region of interest on the fuselage. A second step of classification is then carried out in order to categorize defects (lightning strike, oil leak, scratching, texture irregularity, etc.) versus normal elements of the aircraft (screws, rivets, pitot tubes, etc.). The recognition algorithm is based on machine learning from the annotated databases of previous flights.[10] [25] [34]

The effectiveness of deep learning algorithms depends on the representativeness and the quantity of examples in each class. Databases suffer from the fact that there is only a small number of defects compared to the huge amount of normal elements present on an aircraft. The defects are, however, the most critical objects to classify. To overcome this difficulty, Donecle has done research to extend image annotations, using classical image processing techniques and generative adversarial networks.[35] Other alternatives also considered include one-shot learning, which allows learning information about object categories from a single image, or a small number of training images.[36]

Diagnostics are provided in real time.[32] Applications include fault detection and quality control of regulatory markings. At the end of the mission, a damage report is sent to a tablet computer with each region of interest and its proposed classification. The algorithm returns a confidence rate on its diagnosis. An inspector reviews at the images and validates or refutes the diagnostics.[10] [34]

Operational testing

The company's drone were employed in operational tests by Austrian Airlines in September 2019.[37]

Awards and recognition

The startup and its founders have received the following awards:

See also

Notes and References

  1. en . U.F. Goranson . J.T. Rogers . Elements of Damage Tolerance Verification . Twelfth ICAF Symposium, International Committee on Aeronautical Fatigue . 1983.
  2. en . Henry Canaday . UAVs And Robotics Move Into MRO: Technological innovations are changing inspections, parts stocking and repairs . Inside MRO . 28 August 2015 . 10 February 2018.
  3. en . Graham Warwick . More Airlines Turn To UAVs For Aircraft Inspection . Inside MRO . 25 September 2015 . 10 February 2018.
  4. Igor . Jovancevic . Stanislas . Larnier . Jean-José . Orteu . Thierry . Sentenac . Automated exterior inspection of an aircraft with a pan-tilt-zoom camera mounted on a mobile robot . Journal of Electronic Imaging . 24 . 6 . 061110 . November 2015 . 10.1117/1.JEI.24.6.061110 . pdf. 2015JEI....24f1110J . 29167101 .
  5. Book: fr . Valéry Bonneau . Mon collègue est un robot . Éditions Alternatives . 2016 . 41–42 . Gallimard . 9782072657917.
  6. News: Easyjet develops flying robots to inspect aircraft . BBC News Business . 7 May 2014 . 2 August 2017.
  7. Book: fr . Isabelle Bellin . Sylvain Labbé . Des drones à tout faire ?: Ce qu'ils vont changer dans ma vie au quotidien . Editions Quae . 2016 . 90 . 9782759225293 .
  8. fr . Johanna Decorse . Donecle inspecte en un éclair les avions impactés par la foudre . 18 April 2016 . . 26 August 2017.
  9. fr . Florine Galéron . Aéronautique : la startup Donéclé invente le drone anti-foudre . La Tribune . 28 August 2015 . 26 August 2017.
  10. fr . Arnaud Devillard . Des drones pour inspecter des avions . Sciences et Avenir . 20 April 2016 . 30 July 2017.
  11. uploaded by MIT Technology Review, 26 April 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2017
  12. fr . Sylvain Rolland . Gael Cérez . Matthieu Claybrough, cofondateur de Donecle, récompensé par la MIT Technology Review . La Tribune . 14 April 2016 . 26 April 2017 .
  13. fr . Marina Angel . 2017, l'année de l'envol des essaims de drones du toulousain Donecle . Usine Digitale . 6 December 2016 . 19 July 2017.
  14. fr . Valérie Froger . Quatre start-up françaises qui révolutionnent leur marché . . 18 July 2016 . 2 August 2017.
  15. fr . Claire Raynaud . 8 April 2016 . Des milliards d'économies pour les compagnies aériennes . La Dépêche du Midi . 30 August 2019 .
  16. fr . Jean-Baptiste Heguy . 8 April 2016 . Donecle : des micro-drones pour inspecter les avions de ligne touchés par la foudre . Air et Cosmos . 30 August 2019 .
  17. fr . Julie Rimbert . 21 December 2016 . Des drones pour inspecter les avions . . 30 August 2019 .
  18. Web site: fr . Jeanne Dussueil . Donecle, à l'assaut des compagnies aériennes avec ses drones de maintenance des avions . 29 June 2016 . frenchweb.fr . 19 July 2017.
  19. fr . Marina Angel . IoT Valley : Connected Camp saison 1, c'est parti avec 8 start-up . Usine Digitale . 3 February 2016 . 26 August 2017.
  20. uploaded by Toulouse Métropole, 10 October 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2017
  21. uploaded by IoT Valley, 30 March 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2017
  22. fr . JDE Edition . Toulouse. Donecle Delta Drone investit un million d'euros dans Donecle . Le Journal des entreprises . 24 October 2016 . 19 July 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170729172513/http://www.lejournaldesentreprises.com/regionale/Midi-Pyrenees/toulouse-donecle-delat-drone-investit-un-million-d-euros-dans-donecle-24-10-2016-306009.php . 29 July 2017 . dead .
  23. fr . Magali Rebeaud . Donecle inspecte les avions de ligne avec ses drones . Aerobuzz . 16 June 2017 . 26 August 2017.
  24. Web site: fr . La première édition du Paris Air Lab au salon du Bourget 2017 - 21/06 . bfmbusiness.bfmtv.com . . 21 June 2017 . 26 August 2017.
  25. en . Léo Barnier . Donecle sets its drone to work for maintenance with AFI KLM E&M . Le Journal de l'Aviation . 20 July 2017 . 27 August 2017.
  26. fr . AOF . Delta Drone investit un million d'euros dans Donecle . 11 October 2016 . . 27 August 2017.
  27. fr . Gabrielle Carpel . Les drones du Bourget . 11 October 2016 . Drones Actu . 27 August 2017 . 2 August 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170802220204/http://dronesactu.com/article/les-drones-du-bourget/ . dead .
  28. Web site: fr . Sélection Midinvest 2017 : Donecle, le drone automatique inspecteur d'avion . 24 February 2017 . midinvest.fr . Midinvest . 27 August 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170802213238/http://www.midinvest.fr/actualites/selection-midinvest-2017-donecle-drone-automatique-inspecteur-davion/ . 2 August 2017 . dead .
  29. HenrydFrecinet . 1044954791498174464 . 26 September 2018 . Présentation dynamique d'inspection de #Rafale par le drone de @Donecle sur l' @ADSShow2018 avec @AppsDrones @AiretCosmos .
  30. fr . Emmanuel Huberdeau . 5 October 2018 . Des drones pour aider à la maintenance . Air et Cosmos . 2611 . 15 .
  31. Jawhar . Chebbi . François . Defaÿ . Yves . Brière . Alban . Deruaz-Pepin . Novel Model-Based Control Mixing Strategy for a Coaxial Push-Pull Multirotor . IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters . 5 . 2 . 485–491 . 2020 . 10.1109/LRA.2019.2963652 . 210693599 .
  32. fr . Olivier James . Les drones de Donecle auscultent les avions . L'Usine Nouvelle . 19 November 2016 . 30 July 2017.
  33. Web site: fr . DRONES : Donecle opère y compris en indoor, des drones pour inspecter les impacts foudre sur un avion . entreprises-occitanie.com . Entreprises Occitanie . Emma Bao . 4 August 2016 . 27 August 2017 . 25 August 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170825061306/http://www.entreprises-occitanie.com/drones-donecle-opere-y-compris-en-indoor-des-drones-pour-inspecter-les-impacts-foudre-sur-un-avion . dead .
  34. Julien . Miranda . Stanislas . Larnier . Matthieu . Claybrought . Caractérisation d'objets sur des images acquises par drone recherchant des défauts pour la maintenance aéronautique . Actes de la conférence Reconnaissance de Formes et Intelligence Artificielle . 2018 . 2019-03-23 . 2019-03-23 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190323074511/https://rfiap2018.ign.fr/sites/default/files/ARTICLES/RFIAP_2018/RFIAP_2018_Miranda_Caracterisation.pdf . dead .
  35. Bryan . Deliencourt . Mathieu . Giraud . Julien . Miranda . Stanislas . Larnier . Ariane . Herbulot . Michel . Devy . Génération photo-réaliste de défauts sur des images de surfaces extérieures d'avions acquises parun drone autonome . ORASIS, Journées Francophones des Jeunes Chercheurs en Vision Par Ordinateur . 2019 .
  36. Book: Julien . Miranda . Jannic . Veith . Stanislas . Larnier . Ariane . Herbulot . Michel . Devy . Fourteenth International Conference on Quality Control by Artificial Vision . Machine learning approaches for defect classification on aircraft fuselage images by an UAV . Nicolas . Verrier . Stéphane . Bazeille . Christophe . Cudel . 2019 . 11172 . 10 . 10.1117/12.2520567 . 2019SPIE11172E..08M . 9781510630536 . 197660022 . https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334758545 .
  37. Web site: Airline Testing Aircraft Inspection Drones. 11 September 2019. O'Connor. Kate. AVweb. 10 September 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190911150748/https://www.avweb.com/recent-updates/unmanned-vehicles/airline-testing-aircraft-inspection-drones/. 11 September 2019.
  38. Web site: fr . Prix Jean-Louis Gerondeau / Zodiac Aerospace . 2016 . polytechnique.edu . . 30 July 2017.
  39. Web site: fr . Prix Galaxie 2016 . 2016 . club-galaxie.com . Club Galaxie . 30 July 2017 . 30 July 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170730151655/http://club-galaxie.com/prix-galaxie-2016/ . dead .
  40. fr . Sophie Arutunian . La startup Donecle remporte le Grand Prix Galaxie 2016 . La Tribune . 13 October 2016 . 30 July 2017.
  41. Web site: Matthieu Claybrough . 2016 . innovatorsunder35.com . Innovators Under 35 . 30 July 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170730145348/http://innovatorsunder35.com/innovator/matthieu-claybrough . 30 July 2017 . dead .
  42. fr . Guillaume Bregeras . Les dix pionniers français à suivre selon le MIT . . 14 April 2016 .
  43. Web site: fr . Lauréats Prix Jeune Ingénieur Créateur 2016 . 2016 . norbert-segard.org . Fondation Norbert Ségard . 30 July 2017.
  44. Web site: fr . Prix la Tribune Jeune Entrepreneur 2016 : découvrez les lauréats . 5 April 2016 . bpifrance.fr . . 30 July 2017.
  45. fr . PLTJE 2016 : des entrepreneurs ambitieux pour représenter Toulouse et sa région . La Tribune . 11 November 2015 . 26 August 2017.
  46. Web site: fr . 2ème édition start me up by CA31 sur orbite ! . 3 June 2016 . ca-toulouse31.fr . Crédit agricole . 30 July 2017.
  47. fr . Donecle récompensée par le Crédit Agricole Toulouse 31 . . 24 October 2015 . 26 August 2017.
  48. Web site: fr. Les cinq lauréats des trophées Aeromart Toulouse 2016. madeeli.fr. 2016. 26 August 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170730153821/http://www.madeeli.fr/actualites/cinq-laureats-trophees-aeromart-toulouse-2016/. 30 July 2017. dead.
  49. Web site: fr . Donecle reçoit le trophée de l'innovation Toulouse . toulouse7.com . December 2016 . 30 July 2017.
  50. Web site: Lauréats du concours national de robotique extérieure 2017 . Concours national de robotique extérieure . concours-robotique.fr . fr . 2017 . 26 August 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171118143502/http://concours-robotique.fr/fr/accueil/ . 18 November 2017 . dead .
  51. fr . Maxime Birken . La startup toulousaine Donéclé lauréate du 2e concours national de robotique . 13 March 2017 . La Tribune . 30 July 2017.
  52. fr . Prix de l'Entrepreneur de l'Année : les lauréats pour la région Grand Sud . 4 October 2017 . L'Express . 14 February 2018.
  53. fr . Sébastien Matty reçoit le "Prix de l'Entrepreneur de l'Année 2017" . 26 September 2017 . La Dépêche . 14 February 2018.
  54. fr . Bilan de Midinnov et des trophées du 37e concours Les Inn'Ovations... . 5 February 2018 . La Tribune . 14 February 2018.
  55. fr . Martin Venzal . MidInnov et Inn'Ovations : comment l'innovation reste un moteur de l'économie régionale . 1 February 2018 . ToulEco . 14 February 2018.
  56. Web site: en . Warwick . Graham . Anselmo . Joe . Aviation Week's 2020 Laureate Winners . aviationweek.com . . 10 January 2020 . 15 February 2020.

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