(4) Miniaturized End Effector - DART

Corrosion and other surface degradation processes are a significant concern in the sustainment of Navy platforms including vehicles, ships, rotorcraft, and aircraft. Estimates place the cost of corrosion on navy assets above $6.7B annually (approximately 20% of the total sustainment budget). The most common processes for treating corrosion involve cleaning and removing the corroded material (i.e., re-profiling). Manual processes for material removal are effective, but have limitations in terms of precision, control, quality assurance, and documentation. This program seeks to develop a miniaturized end effector capable of performing cleaning, coating removal, inspection, re-profiling, and re-coating. This transformative technology would provide for an overall improved sustainment approach, combining the portability, adaptability, and accessibility of a human operation with the precision and accuracy of computer control.