Superior Good Robotic Cover Sanding System Will Remodel Upkeep Operations, Prolong Service Life, and Improve Mission Readiness for Plane
CARSON, CA (Los Angeles County) Jan. 15, 2026 — GrayMatter Robotics, a frontrunner in AI-powered robotic floor ending options, at this time introduced it has been awarded a Small Enterprise Innovation Analysis (SBIR) Section II contract by AFWERX, the innovation arm of the Division of the Air Pressure, to develop an autonomous robotic system for the precision sanding of canopies.
The Section II contract builds upon GrayMatter’s confirmed experience in physics-informed AI and adaptive robotic techniques, extending the corporate’s breakthrough floor ending know-how to handle certainly one of aviation upkeep’s most difficult and important duties. The Good Robotic Cover Sanding System will goal upkeep and restore operations for acrylic and polycarbonate components that accumulate scratches and floor injury on inside and exterior surfaces all through their service life.
“Guide cover restore is likely one of the most demanding precision duties in plane upkeep, requiring distinctive ability and consuming invaluable technician hours that might be deployed elsewhere,” stated Ariyan Kabir, CEO and co-founder of GrayMatter Robotics. “Our system will ship the consistency and precision wanted to revive optical readability whereas dramatically decreasing upkeep time and eliminating the variability that results in rework.”
The system leverages GrayMatter’s proprietary GMR-AI™ platform, integrating superior 3D sensing, force-adaptive management, and autonomous trajectory technology and adaptation to establish and systematically take away floor defects whereas preserving the cover’s optical properties and structural integrity. The robotic resolution adapts in actual time to deal with the advanced geometries and ranging defect patterns encountered throughout totally different plane platforms.
“This contract represents a pure evolution of our bodily AI know-how into aerospace upkeep purposes,” stated Dr. Satyandra Okay. Gupta, chief scientist and co-founder of GrayMatter Robotics. “The identical adaptive intelligence that allows our techniques to deal with 1000’s of distinctive components in manufacturing environments will now assist the exacting necessities of optical floor restoration. We’re basically instructing robots to duplicate and surpass the experience of the expert upkeep technicians.”
Key technical improvements of the Good Robotic Cover Sanding System embrace:
• Autonomous Harm Detection: Superior imaginative and prescient techniques that establish and classify scratches, hazing, and different floor defects
• Adaptive Course of Management: Actual-time adjustment of sanding parameters based mostly on materials thickness, scratch depth, and optical necessities
• High quality Assurance Integration: In-process monitoring and documentation to make sure constant restore high quality and traceability
The system is designed to combine seamlessly into current depot- and field-level upkeep workflows, offering a scalable, data-driven strategy to cover restore that helps prolong service life and enhance plane availability throughout the Air Pressure fleet.
This newest AFWERX contract provides to GrayMatter Robotics’ rising portfolio of protection and aerospace purposes, following the corporate’s choice as a winner within the U.S. Navy’s Superior Manufacturing Innovation for Maritime Readiness Problem in August 2025.
The Section II effort will embrace in depth testing and validation in collaboration with Air Pressure upkeep services, with preliminary prototype demonstrations deliberate for later this 12 months. GrayMatter Robotics expects the know-how developed underneath this contract to have broad purposes throughout navy and business aviation upkeep operations.
About GrayMatter Robotics
GrayMatter Robotics, headquartered in Carson, California, designs superior, physics-informed, AI-driven robotic cells that empower high-mix producers to deal with advanced, ergonomically difficult floor ending duties, akin to sanding, grinding, buffing, sprucing, blasting, and spraying. That includes proprietary applied sciences like GMR-AI™, GMR-Guardian™, GMR-Care™, GMR-Insights™, and GMR-ProcessPro™, GrayMatter Robotics enhances productiveness, security, and sustainability by streamlined, turnkey automation accessible to producers of all sizes. Based in 2020, the corporate serves numerous manufacturing sectors, together with aerospace and protection, marine and boat constructing, specialty automobiles, normal manufacturing, and recreation and shopper merchandise. Named certainly one of Quick Firm’s most revolutionary firms in robotics and engineering for 2025, GrayMatter Robotics is accelerating the transformation of American manufacturing. For extra info, go to www.graymatter-robotics.com.
About AFWERX
Because the innovation arm of the Division of the Air Pressure (DAF) and a directorate inside the Air Pressure Analysis Laboratory, AFWERX brings cutting-edge American ingenuity from small companies and start-ups to handle essentially the most urgent challenges of the DAF. AFWERX employs roughly 325 navy, civilian, and contractor personnel at 5 hubs and websites executing an annual $1.4 billion finances. Since 2019, AFWERX has executed 4,697 contracts value greater than $2.6 billion to strengthen the U.S. protection industrial base and drive sooner know-how transition to operational functionality. For extra info, go to afwerx.com.
