Tools for Remote MRO Collaboration

Librestream’s Onsight mobile collaboration platform enables technicians to work remotely with experts and customers to perform guided maintenance tasks, conduct remote inspections, and witness and certify tests. The augmented reality platform features software capabilities such as analytics, the ability to capture content for training and audits, data visualization, digital work instructions and more. Optional accessories such as the Onsight Cube thermal wearable are also available.

According to Librestream, the Onsight platform has experienced a 745% increase in usage since the outbreak of COVID-19 ramped up in early March. The company is providing its Onsight Connect remote expert software at no charge for a limited time to help companies with immediate business continuity challenges.

A number of airlines are trialing the use of Donecle drones for visual inspections of aircraft exteriors, which potentially speed up the process while reducing safety concerns of technicians working at height. Donecle’s system enables the immediate upload and sharing of inspection data to give customers an objective view of an aircraft’s structural condition, which may provide benefits while travel restrictions are still in place due to COVID-19.

According to Donecle, existing labor shortages paired with coronavirus-related layoffs may also result in understaffing issues in late 2020 or early 2021, so “automated drone solutions will be a force multiplier, both in terms of physically conducting inspections but also to analyze inspection data and issue reports.”

Expert Teleportation is a hands-free remote collaboration system that pairs smart glasses with software to connect technicians with remote experts. While technicians complete tasks such as inspections, they can use the system to contact an expert and share what they are seeing to solve problems. The Expert Teleportation system is used by a number of aerospace customers in France, including Air France, Safran and Stelia Aerospace.

According to Expert Teleportation, the trend of remote collaboration is ramping up due to the coronavirus crisis and demand for its system has increased. It is working to integrate new functionality into the system, including automated reporting using machine learning and a maintenance application to provide step-by-step instructions.

Atheer’s Augmented Reality (AR) Management Platform enables teams to collaborate remotely through video assistance and digitized work instructions, which the company says can provide efficiencies within aircraft and engine inspections. According to Atheer, its AR platform will be beneficial during the COVID-19 crisis to airlines that are working to store and maintain their aircraft, follow social distancing protocols, and document and follow processes needed to bring aircraft back into service.

Atheer says it has seen a 200-300% increase in usage by front line teams at some of its large enterprise customers due to the coronavirus pandemic, which is fueled by factors such as limitations on travel and the need for production ramp up within manufacturing of essential items such as medical equipment and cleaning products.

IFS Remote Assistance is a merged reality tool purpose-built for remote collaboration that the company has recently begun to offer to its customers in target industries. The tool merges two real-time video streams so remote experts can collaborate with technicians in the field on diagnosing and solving problems, including the ability to draw on and freeze images, use hand gestures and share pictures. According to IFS, it has seen increased interest from service industry customers due to COVID-19 and it is now beginning discussions with airline customers about the use of the technology.

The company is working on plans to embed IFS Remote Assistance into its user experience for airlines and is collaborating with customers to determine if the technology has potential for improving how independent inspections are performed.

RealWear’s HMT Platform for remote collaboration consists of a hands-free, voice-guided headset with a high-definition camera tailored for industrial use cases. In addition to enabling two-way video calling between workers in the field and remote experts, the platform gives workers access to technical manuals and documents, step-by-step instructions and IoT data visualization. The device is capable of pairing with any Android app that has been optimized for hands-free voice control.

According to RealWear, the HMT Platform is “flying off the shelf” thanks in part to the recent announcement of its partnership with Microsoft Teams to integrate HMT-1 headsets with the collaboration platform. Within a week of the March 19 announcement, RealWear says it received nearly 1,000 requests from customers wanting access to the system. In addition to its high demand within industrial use cases, RealWear says the technology is being used on the front-line to help healthcare workers respond to the COVID-19 crisis.

Safran’s B.SIde is a remote borescope inspection service to enable both on-the-job training for technicians working on Safran engines, as well as expert advice during borescope engine inspections. The system comes with accessories to connect to and share borescope images with live experts from Safran, as well as an interactive web platform and iOS app. Technicians are able to share live images of borescope inspections that both parties can zoom in and draw on while conducting a face-to-face video call.

The web platform and app also feature an automated checklist and inspection report generation tool. Technicians can add images, information and remarks to reports generated through the system, then store and share them through the cloud. B.SIde offers complementary distance learning modules for training purposes to enhance borescope inspection skills.

Knowledge sharing platform Speach provides the ability for MRO technicians in the field to capture interactive digital work instructions from their location and share with team members worldwide. The platform blends audio, video, text documents, images and hyperlinks to allow MRO technicians to quickly create, share and view tutorials on a tablet or smartphone. Content is uploaded to an on-demand library of digital media assets that workers within an MRO organization can access.

According to Speach, the platform is beneficial for both onboarding new workers and for enabling technicians in any location to share step-by-step video instructions with colleagues worldwide. Speach says the platform is used by customers including Airbus, Air France and Safran.

CloudVisit’s Aviation Maintenance Software enables real-time visual communication and collaboration between maintenance teams in different locations, reducing the need for inspectors to travel from site-to-site. Maintenance teams run the software on smartphones or tablets and can communicate with remote inspectors through high-definition videoconferencing while sharing and analyzing data to determine aircraft airworthiness.

In addition to functionality for organizing, documenting, sharing and storing data, CloudVisit’s software enables maintenance teams to capture video recordings, screen images and photos of aircraft, which can be shared with remote inspectors. The inspector is able to mark images with arrows, circles and notes to indicate which items need repairs. Video and audio recordings, images and chats can be saved in the cloud for inspection records.

Testia Remote Assistance is a browser-based application for real-time, expert quality assurance. Originally created to deliver support for remote maintenance inspections, Testia says the tool can be used for all kinds of remote assistance such as remote expertise on repairs. Technicians on-site are linked to a remote expert via live video communication, and the expert can then draw on the screen via the tool’s integrated whiteboard feature or take control of the settings and results from measurement devices or computers used on-site.

The tool is device agnostic and can run on smartphones, computers and wearables. Testia says its Remote Assistance tool is highly customizable and its cloud data and sharing capabilities help synchronize maintenance team activities. According to the company, interest in the solution has increased a lot due to COVID-19 because of its ability to connect users working from home with technicians in facilities.