The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Generally, in operation, mobile platforms can be subjected to high-velocity impacts from debris. This is especially so with high-speed mobile platforms, such as jet aircraft. These high-velocity impacts can cause damage to the mobile platform, the extent of which may or may not be readily visually detectable by the crew. Currently, damage detection in mobile platforms is labor intensive and many damage detection apparatuses require a portion of the mobile platform to be disassembled, which is time consuming and costly. In addition, some forms of damage detection may not be compatible with mobile platforms that are composed of certain materials. Many presently available damage detection systems also are unable to be used on jet aircraft while in-flight, which can be undesirable. Such systems require the aircraft to remain at a specified location for maintenance testing, which can result in lost service time for the aircraft if it is ultimately determined that an impact occurrence did not result in any structural damage to the aircraft.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a damage detection system that provides for even more efficient damage detection, and also damage detection that can be used while a mobile is traveling en route to a given destination.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds