Meet SPIDER: an autonomous robot that makes it easier to detect damage on an airship. It scans the envelope, finds the pinholes, and patches them. The robot is self-propelled and has 2 magnetic halves. The outer half shines light on the airship surface while the inner half finds pinholes.
Skunk Works' SPIDER: Self-Propelled Instrument for Airship Damage Evaluation and Repair
Once a hole is detected, SPIDER activates its patching mechanism and sends before/after images to a central hub. The above video shows how this robot works.
[HT: Lockheed Martin]
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