Sensiworm (Soft ElectroNics Skin-Innervated Robotic Worm)

2023: Robot Announcement

On September 7, 2023, General Electric (GE) introduced the Sensiworm robot (Soft ElectroNics Skin-Innervated Robotic Worm), specially designed to repair jet engines.

The Sensiworm project is designed to simplify the inspection of air power plants. Usually, to assess the state of jet engines, specialists use boroscopes - technical endoscopes. But such devices do not always allow you to get to the desired nodes, which leads to the need to open the unit for inspection and repair if defects or problems are detected. The new device allows you to partially bypass existing difficulties.

The Sensiworm is a flexible, soft robot that can easily navigate various surfaces and bends of jet engine parts. Thanks to built-in sensors, the smart worm can detect cracks and corrosion, as well as measure the thickness of coatings that provide a thermal barrier. Sensiworm transmits video and data in real time, which greatly simplifies the diagnosis of aircraft propulsion systems. In the future, it is expected that the robot will be able to perform certain repair tasks.

Sensiworm aircraft repair worm robot (Soft ElectroNics Skin-Innervated Robotic Worm)

The Sensiworm project is funded by SEMI Flex Tech, a public-private partnership focused on advancing developments in hybrid electronics. The program is funded by the U.S. Army Research Laboratory. The GE Aerospace team is also partnering with Binghamton University. The Sensiworm robot can serve as an "additional set of eyes and ears" for technicians serving aviation equipment. In the future, the proposed technology, according to the developers, will provide engineers with almost unlimited access during inspections without the need to disassemble the engine.^[1]

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