APPLICATION OF AUTOMATION AND ROBOTICS TECHNOLOGY TO MAINTENANCE OF BATTERIES USED ABOARD SHIPS AIRCRAFT AND HELICOPTERS

BATTERY SERVICING AND MAINTENANCE HAVE BEEN DIFFICULT AND DANGEROUS CHORES SINCE BATTERIES WERE INVENTED. BATTERIES ARE OFTEN BOTH HEAVY AND CLUMSY AND ARE FULL OF CORROSIVE FLUIDS AND TOXIC MATERIALS. THEYOFTEN EMIT EXPLOSIVE AND POISONOUS FUMES. IN THIS SUBMITTAL MAINTENANCE REQUIREMENTS INC. PROPOSES TO INITIATE A CONCERTED EFFORT TO APPLY ROBOTIC AND AUTOMATION TECHNOLOGIES TO THE HANDLING, SERVICING, AND MAINTENANCE OF BATTERIES USED ABOARD SURFACE SHIPS, AIRCRAFT, HELICOPTERS, VEHICLES, GROUND SUPPORT EQUIPMENT, AND WEAPONS SYSTEMS. A HIGHLY COMPETENT KNOWLEDGEABLE TEAM WILL CONDUCT A DETAILED SURVEY OF PERTINENT ASPECTS OF BATTERY MAINTENANCE AND WILL DETERMINE WHICH SPECIFIC TASKS ARE SUITABLE FOR AUTOMATION. THE INFORMATION COLLECTEDWILL BE ANALYZED TO DETERMINE THE LIKELY BENEFITS OF AUTOMATION FOR EACH TASK IDENTIFIED, AND A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN WILL BE DEVELOPED TO CONDUCT A PILOT PROGRAM TO APPLY ROBOTIC AND AUTOMATION TECHNOLOGIES TO THE TASKS SELECTED. THE ROBOTICS FACILITY AT CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO, WILL BE USED TO DEMONSTRATE THE FEASIBILITY OF SELECTED CONCEPTS.