RE2 to develop robotic repair system for aircraft engines 



By Ashley Addington



Pennsylvania’s RE2, primarily known for its manipulator arms and unmanned ground vehicles, has been awarded a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research award to develop an Automated Air Inlet Coating system that allows a robotic manipulation system to recoat damaged and worn inlet systems on aircraft. 



Aircraft engine air inlets are easily worn down by foreign objects while in use, but repairing them can be a hazardous job. They have to be recoated manually, which can be dangerous to workers.



“The A2IC system that we proposed is an extremely innovative design that will significantly reduce recoating time during aircraft overhauls, reduce worker risks, and provide uniform, repeatable and verifiable coating results,” says Mike Cozza, vice president of engineering for RE2, in a press release.



During Phase I, RE2, which also has robotic arms in its systems portfolio, will be designing an agile, flexible robotic system for fixing the inlets.



Company President and CEO Jorgen Pedersen said, “aircraft maintenance using robotic manipulators is an exciting new market for RE2. We are honored that the Air Force chose our A2IC design to receive this initial round of funding.”