Gtri Software Helps Aircraft Technicians

A P-3 Orion circles Mt. Fuji. Software developed by Georgia Tech provides information that maintainers use to keep the aircraft flying.

Aircraft technicians these days are as likely to use a laptop as a printed manual and logbook, and to turn to the Internet for the latest job-status reports and technical information.

Engineers from the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) are assisting them, using current computer and database technology to help military aircraft maintainers get their work done more efficiently. A team from GTRI's Electro-Optical Systems Laboratory (EOSL) has been developing and improving maintenance software for the U.S. Navy since 2000.

Called the Maintainer's Electronic Performance Support System (MEPSS-), this software was initially developed for the Navy's P-3C Orion patrol aircraft. A more recent version is now helping maintain the RQ-2 Pioneer Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, and portions of the GTRI software are being used in other aircraft maintenance programs.

"The idea is to give maintainers all the information tools and decision-making capabilities that they need," said Gisele Bennett, director of EOSL and principal investigator for the project. "From a simplified standpoint, you can almost look at it as an information portal, where you're collecting and disseminating information to the maintainers".

MEPSS is typically installed on a laptop computer. Technicians can check parts lists, consult manuals, and add information about their work as they go.........