Texas Tech Hub Seeks to Innovate MRO

Reckon Point specializes in creating indoor scanning robots that can provide high-speed precision mapping of commercial and industrial facilities. The detailed 3D models of interior space the robots provide can be used for everything from facility management and space authorization to optimization and efficiency analysis.

According to Gabe Garza, CEO and founder of Reckon Point, the technology can be used within aviation and MRO for things like asset and staff tracking, floor layout and even monitoring how long staff working within hazardous environments have been exposed to potentially dangerous elements.

The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) is researching how to reduce virtual reality (VR) motion sickness—or “cybersickness”— through the use of a VR rollercoaster. UTSA is collecting physical data from test subjects as they experience the VR rollercoaster. The data is fed into an AI deep learning model to help researchers recognize patterns, predict when cybersickness will occur and apply reduction techniques.

Applied research nonprofit Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) showcased a scale model of its laser coating removal robot, which uses lasers to burn paint off aircraft in a controlled way that provides cost and waste savings. Because the robot eliminates the need for manual paint removal using traditional chemical solvents, SwRI says it enables aircraft operators to repaint aircraft and rebrand fleets much more quickly.

The large industrial robot is currently being built within a facility at The Port and SwRI is using the location to verify and test the system.

Management and information technology specialist Booz Allen Hamilton has created aircraft and aircrew VR training products to “help bridge the gap between the classroom and the physical aircraft.” Potential applications the company offers training products for include environmental considerations for managing airfields, condition checks for aircraft and egress procedures. The company says it serves many military customers, including the U.S. Air Force—which has an Air Force Cyber Command headquartered at The Port.

The Port is in the planning process to launch the first phase of a new innovation center on the property, which will span more than 130,000 sq. ft. The center will include a technology arena, co-working facilities for prototyping and a technology museum.

“The future belongs to innovators, and in an increasingly connected world, innovations are grounded in making essential physical and virtual connections,” says Jim Perschbach, president and CEO, The Port. “Our planned facilities are designed to do exactly that: connect people to educational paths, connect people to employers and connect those employers to important global opportunities.”