Project Details

[Return to Previous Page]

Aerospace Tufting Applicator and Visual Flow Mapping

Company: Lockheed Martin

Major(s):
Primary: ME
Secondary: CMPSC
Optional: CMPEN, EE, ESC

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Lockheed Martin’s cutting-edge flight-test and wind-tunnel programs rely on aerodynamic data to fine-tune vehicle performance and validate design simulations. For decades we’ve used tufting—hundreds of short strings taped to the airframe—to visualize surface flow. Because applying tufts and interpreting the video is labor-intensive, we’re teaming with Penn State to automate the whole process: a tuft applicator that loads tape and string, cuts, combines, and precisely applies the tufts on any aircraft surface, and an AI-driven visual-processing suite that defines optimal imaging parameters, detects each tuft, and uses image-recognition and surface-projection algorithms to instantly compute the local flow vector. This multidisciplinary project calls for students with strong mechanical, software, and computer-engineering skills to design the applicator hardware and build the computer-vision pipeline. The team will engage in hands-on prototyping, AI research, and have a direct impact on real aerospace testing. Join us to turn a tedious manual task into a rapid, automated system that delivers immediate, quantitative flow data for the next generation of fixed-wing and rotary-wing vehicles.