GE Aerospace and Waygate Technologies are launching a a commercial jet engine borescope that is enhanced by AI.
The borescope will be available to Waygate Technologies customers and introduced to GE Aerospace’s MRO network later this year. The jointly developed borescope is the first time the two companies have collaborated on an inspection device and has been in development since May 2023.
The borescope uses machine vision-based assisted defect recognition (ADR) systems with AI and is targeted at reducing the time it takes to conduct High Pressure Compressor (HPC) inspections, one of the most critical and time-consuming tasks in the engine Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) process.
“Nicole Jenkins, chief MRO engineer, GE Aerospace said, “We have successfully integrated AI techniques with the right data to improve the detection capabilities of commercial engine borescope inspections.”
“We believe this AI-assisted borescope system will help significantly reduce the time it takes to perform HPC inspections, while delivering high accuracy at the same time.”
Michael Domke, general manager of visual at Waygate Technologies said, “The combination of GE Aerospace’s extensive customer data and our market-leading advanced borescope solutions promises to be an extremely valuable optimization for the entire MRO sector.”
Waygate Technologies used data such as engine inspection videos provided by GE Aerospace to help train the ADR model, combining it with AI techniques including a compute-optimized object detection algorithm and a novel temporal smoothing algorithm.
According to GE Aerospace the ADR is 33% better at detecting HPC defects and identifies false positive 13.5% less than before the AI was trained.
The new AI-assisted features will be integrated and available for deployment through a software update to customers for Waygate Technologies’ Mentor Visual iQ+ borescope later this year. In addition, GE Aerospace will be introducing the model to its MRO network for use in High Pressure Compressor inspections for its GEnx and CFM LEAP engines.
To ensure greater reliability in borescope inspections, the new AI-assisted features will improve the inspection workflow by both reducing the learning curve for new inspectors while simultaneously aiding existing inspectors by assisting in the detection of previously difficult to detect defects.
All users of this technology should see an increased probability of detection and a reduction in mental fatigue from inspection, said GE.
In addition to the improvements made to the Gas Power-assist ADR model, an automated data anonymization tool was developed during this program. This tool enabled the protection of sensitive partner data, while allowing it to be added to the training dataset efficiently.
