The company has developed a revolutionary 'connected' glasses tool, which is worn by final assembly line technicians to enable precise positioning – down to the millimetre – during the cabin installation marking process, when operators designate the exact location where seats and cabin furnishings should be affixed inside the aircraft.
The head-worn technology features a camera to scan barcodes so the user can see the specific cabin plans and information based on individual customer requirements, as well as view the marking zone. The glasses also feature an offset screen that displays several navigation icons and items in augmented reality. In addition, when the mark has been made, its location is checked by the tool to validate the operation.
Airbus' marking operations previously required highly-experienced operators to decipher complicated drawings, convert measurements between imperial and metric units, and prepare marking templates, while maintaining concentration for long periods of time during the highly-involved and physically-demanding task.
"With our new tool, time spent per aircraft on marking operations is divided by six with an error rate reduced to zero, regardless of the user's experience. Even newcomers, after a short training session, can now be entrusted with this activity," said Benoit Rollin, head of Manufacturing Engineering for A330 cabin furnishing.
To date, the glasses are claimed to have been evaluated on five aircraft, allowing Airbus to make significant observations of its application on the A330 final assembly line. As well as being used on the A330, the technology will be used on the final assembly lines of the company's other aircraft in the future.
