Mixed Reality Maintenance And Logistics for Aviation (MRMALA)

NAVAIR is seeking to advance the automation of industrial processes within Fleet Readiness Centers (FRCs) and enhance the efficiency, quality, safety, pollution prevention, and productivity through the integration of emerging technologies for autonomous aviation maintenance.  The ideal tool to achieve this goal will seamlessly integrate technical drawings, engineering data, and user annotations, significantly enhancing the capability to replace, augment, and improve components in both military and civilian systems.  To meet this need, Merge Plot is proposing Mixed Reality Maintenance and Logistics for Aviation (MRMALA), a spatial computing platform designed to construct digital twins of physical objects and connect directly with maintenance and production databases.  A version of this platform has already been used to construct digital twins of naval aircraft.The development of this platform in Phase I will leverage the Converged Mixed Reality (CMR) and Parallel Content Authoring (PCA) systems.  Together they provide a robust framework that integrates high-precision 3D modeling with the immersive experience of mixed reality, allowing for continuous refinement and alignment between digital and physical models.CMR is a powerful system that creates spatial data layers capable of overlaying complex systems, similar to how layered earth data (e.g., satellite images, roads, topography) is used in everyday applications. CMR extends this functionality to other intricate coordinate systems, such as missiles, tanks, aircraft, and buildings, enabling the spatial linkage of critical data, including materials, dimensional tolerances, and mechanical properties. Moreover, CMR facilitates the sharing of metadata across users and autonomous machines, enabling them to navigate specific areas within complex environments to perform tasks—an essential feature anticipated for Phase III (Dual-Use Robotics).PCA complements these capabilities by converting mathematical data structures into multiple output modalities. This supports another critical Phase III outcome (Visual Tools) by enabling seamless integration of information with software like computer-aided design (CAD) models, while  allowing for the evaluation and optimization of components based on physical attributes or ease of reproduction and manufacturing. Together, CMR and PCA enhance existing products by supporting multiple formats, including textual maintenance databases and 3D models for observation and annotation in Mixed Reality (MR).MRMALA will leverage these tools to enable accurate, efficient, and semi-autonomous utilization of 3D models and digital twins in order to allow for rapid and accurate production of critical aviation components.