AI and Augmented Reality for aircraft inspection

The challenge: Overcoming the complexity and rigidity of manual inspections

Airworthiness inspections for leasing and CAMO companies face an extremely demanding environment. Inspectors often have very limited time windows (only 2 or 3 hours per aircraft), often under adverse weather conditions or poor lighting, which increases the risk of human error in data capture.

Traditionally, this process depended on manual record management and a massive administrative burden. The lack of integrated digital tools caused delays in report generation and difficulties in standardising the identification of critical faults, compromising operational agility in a sector where every minute of aircraft downtime comes at a high cost.

Indaer

An international leader in aeronautical engineering services and consulting for airlines and leasing companies.

Industry

Andrea Álvarez
Airworthiness Engineer (CAMO)

This tool enables efficient and reliable planning and execution of physical and airworthiness validation inspections for airlines, leasing companies and other sectors outside aviation that have similar inspection and compliance control processes.

The solution: A digital ecosystem based on AI and augmented reality

Stepview

CAM-SmartTool 4.0, powered by Stepview application technology, offers a comprehensive tool that guides inspectors step by step. Using mobile devices or augmented reality glasses (hands-free), staff can access interactive instructions, capture multimedia data and use computer vision algorithms (YOLO and OCR) to detect structural defects and read technical labels automatically.

This solution, born from the synergy between Smartech Cluster, Indaer, Skylife and Innoarea, includes an administration web portal for asset management and a mobile application with offline capability. Data is synchronised in the cloud as soon as there is coverage, allowing the information collected (edited photos, transcribed audio and checklists) to be instantly converted into professional technical reports, eliminating post-inspection office work.

-60%

Time spent on administrative tasks and report writing

2,5

Average hours saved per technical inspection carried out

92%

Accuracy in automatic defect detection using CNN models

Realidad Aumentada y Realidad Mixta en el sector de la aviación

Step-by-step instructions for hands-free operation with maximum precision
Advanced algorithms for identifying pathologies and damage in parts in real time
Automatic recognition of characters on aircraft component plates and labels
Connection via video and spatial annotations with engineers at base during inspection

Key findings

The implementation of CAM-SmartTool 4.0 has enabled Indaer to standardise its inspection processes, ensuring that each review complies with the strictest quality standards and international regulations. By drastically reducing the manual workload, inspectors can focus on the technical assessment of the aircraft, while the system takes care of collecting and organising field information.

Thanks to the collaboration between Innoarea, Skylife, and Smartech Cluster, the project has strengthened transparency towards end customers. Immediate access to detailed graphical reports and the possibility of remote assistance ensure that any discrepancies are resolved immediately, optimising fleet availability and reducing aircraft delivery times.