Patent ID: 7448271
Filing Date: 2008-11-11
Classification: G01N

Abstract:
1. A system for inspecting a structure comprising: at least one non-destructive inspection sensor for acquiring data indicative of the structure; at least one positional sensor for acquiring positional data of the non-destructive inspection sensor; a mechanism operable to trigger at least one of the non-destructive inspection sensor and the positional sensor to acquire data such that data indicative of the structure and the positional data are acquired at approximately the same time; a movable arm carrying each of the sensors and being movably attached to a base, wherein the movable arm comprises at least one movable joint between the base and the non-destructive inspection sensor; a data acquisition system capable of communicating with each of the sensors such that the data acquisition system generates information indicative of at least a portion of the structure based on the data acquired by each of the sensors; and a controller for controlling the motion of the moveable arm, wherein the controller is operable to move the movable arm in accordance with a predefined motion control program, wherein the at least one positional sensor is capable of acquiring positional data independent of the motion of the movable arm, and wherein the controller is operable to move the movable arm independent of the positional data acquired by the at least one positional sensor.