Boeing S.C. employee Sriya Ngo shows how a lighted suit will help the ergonomics team study motion and recommend workflow changes to prevent injuries to assembly and production workers. (Photo/Liz Segrist)
During the official opening of Boeing's new Research & Technology-South Carolina Center last week in Ladson, executives talked about how the center will attract qualified engineers and scientists to the region.
They said the research coming out of the center could be applied to its commercial, defense or space programs. New technologies the teams develop could be applied to existing aircraft programs or be used to spark new products in the future.
“The 787 itself is a product of innovation from many ideas gathered from R&T centers around the world," said Beverly Wyse, vice president and general manager of Boeing South Carolina.
That all sounds good in theory — but we wanted to know what the employees actually work on all day inside the 104,000-square-foot facility in Palmetto Commerce Park.
One research team wants to prevent injuries to workers building jets. Many assemblers have to hold their hands above their heads to drill holes or paint plane exteriors, which can cause neck, shoulder or back pain.
By using a motion capture tracking system like those often used in video games or movies, researchers are able to study human motion and evaluate ergonomics.
Workers don a black jumpsuit covered in little lights, and researchers study their movements on a screen. Using the data, they then recommend changes to workflow to prevent future injury.
The center's electromagnetic team uses a high-voltage, high-current system that simulates a lightning strike to test equipment and plane parts. (Photo/Liz Segrist)
Another research team at the center tests airplanes’ electrical systems, such as flight deck operations and in-flight entertainment systems. They ensure existing systems work before Dreamliners roll out of the factory, and they create new technologies to improve future electrical systems on the 787s.
One group is studying how to replace some assembly drilling work with robots. This process will likely be integrated into Dreamliner production lines in 2017.
And other researchers work with a high-voltage, high-current system that simulates a lightning strike to determine how the voltage would impact a jet midair. They then develop new technologies to protect aircraft from strikes.
“We’re all here to focus on business opportunities like ‘How do we automate something like paint?’ so we can get the dangerous work and the dirty work out of the system,” Lane Ballard, leader of the Boeing Research and Technology-South Carolina center, said of the robotics and automation research.
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