3D Microdisplacement Monitoring of Large Aircraft Assembly with Automated In Situ Calibration

Three-dimensional(3D)microdisplacement monitoring plays a crucial role in the assembly of large aircraft.This paper presents a broadly applicable high-precision online 3D microdisplacement monitoring method and system based on proximity sensors as well as a corresponding in situ calibration method,which can be applied under various extreme working conditions encountered in the aircraft assembly process,such as compact and obstructed spaces.A 3D monitoring model is first established to achieve 3D microdisplacement monitoring based only on the one-dimensional distances measured by proximity sensors,which concerns the extrinsic sensor parameters,such as the probe base point(PBP)and the unit displacement vector(UDV).Then,a calibration method is employed to obtain these extrinsic parameters with high precision by combining spatial transformation principles and weighted optimization.Finally,calibration and monitoring experiments performed for a tailplane assembly process are reported.The calibration precision for the PBP is better than±10 lm in the X and Y directions and±2 lm in the Z direction,and the calibration precision for the UDV is better than 0.07°.Moreover,the accuracy of the 3D microdisplacement monitoring system can reach±15 lm.In general,this paper provides new insights into the modeling and calibration of 3D microdisplacement monitoring based on proximity sensors and a precise,efficient,and low-cost technical means for performing related measurements in compact spaces during the aircraft assembly process.