While there have been many technology and process improvements related to the manufacture of composites, there has been little progress in addressing the problems of FOD. No single "ultimate" solution appears to be on the horizon. However, enhancements to several components in the LASERGUIDE system now have the capability to detect classes of FOD problems.

APV full-ply backing FOD and ProjectorVision FOD detection are scheduled for release in Q3 2010.

APV Full-Ply Backing FOD
In addressing the problem of full-ply backing FOD, the APV system has been shown to automatically detect full-ply backing FOD when performing a ply location check.

When performing a verification of ply location, APV performs image analysis on the edge of the most recent ply. Full ply backing FOD (which is often difficult to detect with NDI) can be caught and resolved with APV FOD detection.

ProjectorVision
ProjectorVision was developed with the US Air Force Research Laboratory (US AFRL) for the Composite Manufacturing Process Control System program. A vision system was fitted to the optical aiming system that aims the laser light to create layup patterns. The vision system is aimed under data control to scan a layup surface for FOD (pieces of poly, razor blades, badges, gloves, etc.). The FOD analysis successfully avoids false alarms for lettering and tracers.