The tiny pinholes that degrade airships can be tricky to locate and repair with the human eye and the human hand. Lots of man hours and manual labor, along with reaching nearly inaccessible locations. This time on the ground for maintenance defeats the purpose of airships when you consider what they were born to do: move massive amounts of stuff from one place to another efficiently and economically.
HUNT. PATCH. REPEAT.
That’s why you send in the big guns from our friends at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works to create “Self-Propelled Instruments for Damage Evaluation and Repair,” better known as SPIDERs. These autonomous robots can scan and patch rogue holes on the vessel’s “envelope” in no time, literally shedding light on one of the greatest challenges to ever face the industry.
Watch as they weave their web of airtight precision.