Integrated Respirator Information System (IRIS)

A Certified, AI-Enabled Wearable for Confined-Space Aircraft Maintenance

Warfighter-Built. Team MetroStar-Engineered. A Safer, Smarter Way to Perform Aircraft Maintenance in Hazardous Environments.

PHOTO BY: AIRMAN 1ST CLASS AIDAN MARTINEZ

Case Study

A Warfighter-Driven Wearable System Redefining Confined-Space Maintenance

Confined-space maintenance on aging aircraft platforms like the KC-135 has long challenged safety, efficiency, and mission readiness. The IRIS (Integrated Respirator Information System) solution—born from airmen insights and realized through a MetroStar and ActionStreamer partnership—represents a leap forward in digital sustainment for hazardous operational environments.

IRIS equips maintainers with a UL-certified intrinsically safe, AI-enabled, hands-free wearable system that provides real-time video, audio, and lighting. The solution connects directly to a mobile workstation and remote analysts, enabling streamlined inspections, expert support, and future integration with advanced computer vision analytics.

Designed to meet strict DoD safety certifications, and future-proofed with AI integration, IRIS unlocks a new class of data-informed maintenance across Defense, aerospace, and hazardous industrial domains.

The figures below represent projected benefits validated through prototype testing and user interviews. With field deployment underway at Royal Air Force (RAF) Mildenhall, real-world performance data will soon confirm the scale of impact across U.S. Air Force sustainment operations.

60% Faster
Confined-Space Inspections

35,000 Maintenance Hours
Projected Saved Per Year Across a KC-F135 Fleet

7,000+ Additional
Aircraft-Availability Days Annually

Case Study

A Warfighter-Driven Wearable System Redefining Confined-Space Maintenance

Confined-space maintenance on aging aircraft platforms like the KC-135 has long challenged safety, efficiency, and mission readiness. The IRIS (Integrated Respirator Information System) solution—born from airmen insights and realized through a MetroStar and ActionStreamer partnership—represents a leap forward in digital sustainment for hazardous operational environments.

IRIS equips maintainers with a UL-certified intrinsically safe, AI-enabled, hands-free wearable system that provides real-time video, audio, and lighting. The solution connects directly to a mobile workstation and remote analysts, enabling streamlined inspections, expert support, and future integration with advanced computer vision analytics.

Designed to meet strict DoD safety certifications, and future-proofed with AI integration, IRIS unlocks a new class of data-informed maintenance across Defense, aerospace, and hazardous industrial domains.

The figures below represent projected benefits validated through prototype testing and user interviews. With field deployment underway at Royal Air Force (RAF) Mildenhall, real-world performance data will soon confirm the scale of impact across U.S. Air Force sustainment operations.

60% Faster Confined-Space Inspections

35,000 Maintenance Hours Projected Saved Per Year Across a KC-F135 Fleet

7,000+ Additional Aircraft-Availability Days Annually

The Challenge

Modernizing Aircraft Maintenance in Confined, Hazardous Environments

Aircraft maintainers working inside fuel tanks on legacy airframes face Class I Division 1 conditions, such as flammable vapors, low visibility, and zero tolerance for error. Yet the standard inspection processes and tools include shouting for help, paper checklists, and no eyes outside the tank. These methods isolate maintainers, introduce safety risks, slow inspection timelines, and increase the chances of rework. Training inconsistencies further compound the problem, creating gaps in inspection quality and readiness. Because these environments are highly explosive, conventional commercial wearables are not viable, and are rendered unsafe by heat emissions, wireless components, or uncertified electronics.

IRIS changes the confined-space maintenance paradigm. By delivering intrinsically safe, high-definition video, two-way audio, and hands-free lighting inside a fuel tank, it enables maintainers to inspect, communicate, and document without leaving the confined space or compromising safety.

Solving this challenge required a customized, intrinsically safe solution, built with maintainers, tested in mission conditions, and certified to meet DoD and OSHA stringent safety and sustainment standards.

The Challenge

Modernizing Aircraft Maintenance in Confined, Hazardous Environments

Aircraft maintainers working inside fuel tanks on legacy airframes face Class I Division 1 conditions, such as flammable vapors, low visibility, and zero tolerance for error. Yet the standard inspection processes and tools include shouting for help, paper checklists, and no eyes outside the tank. These methods isolate maintainers, introduce safety risks, slow inspection timelines, and increase the chances of rework. Training inconsistencies further compound the problem, creating gaps in inspection quality and readiness. Because these environments are highly explosive, conventional commercial wearables are not viable, and are rendered unsafe by heat emissions, wireless components, or uncertified electronics.

IRIS changes the confined-space maintenance paradigm. By delivering intrinsically safe, high-definition video, two-way audio, and hands-free lighting inside a fuel tank, it enables maintainers to inspect, communicate, and document without leaving the confined space or compromising safety.

Solving this challenge required a customized, intrinsically safe solution, built with maintainers, tested in mission conditions, and certified to meet DoD and OSHA stringent safety and sustainment standards.

The Agency +Scale

IRIS began by addressing a critical pain point for the Air Force’s sustainment community: how to modernize inspection workflows for legacy airframes without compromising safety in hazardous, confined environments.
This operational backdrop made RAF Mildenhall an ideal launch point for a mission-ready, intrinsically safe wearable solution like IRIS. With fuel-cell inspections required at regular intervals and legacy platforms nearing end-of-life cycles, the need for a faster, safer inspection capability was acute.

Agency: U.S. Air Forces Europe (USAFE), Maintenance and Sustainment Command

Pilot Site: RAF Mildenhall, supporting global tanker and mobility operations

Mission: Sustain flight readiness and operational safety through timely, accurate aircraft inspections

Scope: Confined-space environments (e.g., fuel tanks) on aging platforms like the KC-135

Pre-IRIS Conditions: No digital visibility, paper-based logs, and communication via shouting, banging, and tugging air lines

The Agency +Scale

IRIS began by addressing a critical pain point for the Air Force’s sustainment community: how to modernize inspection workflows for legacy airframes without compromising safety in hazardous, confined environments.

This operational backdrop made RAF Mildenhall an ideal launch point for a mission-ready, intrinsically safe wearable solution like IRIS. With fuel-cell inspections required at regular intervals and legacy platforms nearing end-of-life cycles, the need for a faster, safer inspection capability was acute.

Agency: U.S. Air Forces Europe (USAFE), Maintenance and Sustainment Command

Pilot Site: RAF Mildenhall, supporting global tanker and mobility operations

Mission: Sustain flight readiness and operational safety through timely, accurate aircraft inspections

Scope: Confined-space environments (e.g., fuel tanks) on aging platforms like the KC-135

Pre-IRIS Conditions: No digital visibility, paper-based logs, and communication via shouting, banging, and tugging air lines

“Maintenance is often done at a higher risk than necessary because [maintainers] lack access to modern technology. IRIS is an airman-built solution to solve a problem [that maintainers] know intimately.”

Joe Early
Sr. Director of Solutions,
MetroStar

MetroStar Approach

Human-Centered Engineering for a Mission-Critical, AI-Enabled Wearable System

IRIS started as a problem observed firsthand by maintainers and championed through innovation pipelines like AFWERX. MetroStar’s approach connected warfighter insights, safety engineering, and AI integration to deliver a certified solution ready for mission deployment.

MetroStar Approach

Human-Centered Engineering for a Mission-Critical, AI-Enabled Wearable System

IRIS started as a problem observed firsthand by maintainers and championed through innovation pipelines like AFWERX. MetroStar’s approach connected warfighter insights, safety engineering, and AI integration to deliver a certified solution ready for mission deployment.

Our engineers worked alongside maintainers, AFWERX, and ActionStreamer to map flight-line workflows, safety constraints, and comms limitations inside confined spaces. Our collaborative design sessions led to rapid prototyping, including 3D-printed mounts that adapt to multiple respirator models.

The IRIS wearable was engineered for compatibility with the 3M 6900 respirator and retrofitted with heat-free LED lighting and a high-definition camera. Testing at the AFRL C-130 test wing confirmed lighting coverage and camera Point of View (POV). All electronics were encapsulated and validated to meet Class I Division 1 (Group D, T4) requirements for hazardous, maintenance locations.

Following lab validation, IRIS underwent hands-on testing with maintainers at RAF Mildenhall and Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). We adjusted the lighting angle, headset ergonomics, and video controls iteratively. Meanwhile, the Attendant Mobile Workstation (AMW) was equipped with a purge/pressurization system and simplified startup/shutdown protocols tailored for field crews.

The IRIS software stack includes a secure, browser-based dashboard that allows attendants and supervisors to monitor video and audio feeds, control device settings, and view health diagnostics. MetroStar’s Onyx pipeline is capturing this data, and developing computer vision models to detect anomalies, validate repairs, and accelerate quality assurance.

Certified Wearable Architecture + Data-Driven
Inspection Platform

Designed in direct response to warfighter needs, IRIS’s form factor, safety architecture, and real-time data capabilities deliver immediate and long-term intelligence value.

Point-of-View
Clarity

  • Integrated HD camera and dual LED lighting (no heat emission)
  • Built-in throat mic and in-ear audio for clear communication in high-noise settings
  • Supports live two-way video and audio with remote experts or supervisors

Hardline Secure
Connectivity

  • 250-ft Ethernet umbilical to the AMW—no wireless, no battery risk
  • Ensures secure, uninterrupted transmission in EM-sensitive environments

Secure System
Interface

  • Bowser-based dashboard for live monitoring, diagnostics, and playback
  • Enables instant collaboration, QA validation, and mission documentation

Certified for
Hazard Zones

  • Operates safely in Class I Division 1 (Group D) hazardous areas
  • AMW (Attendant Mobile Workstation) certified for Class I Division 2

Component / Key Specs & Certifications

  • 3 M 6900 respirator mount
  • HD camera
  • Dual no-heat LEDs
  • Throat-mic & earbuds
  • 250-ft Ethernet umbilical
  • Certified Class I Div 1 (Group D, T4)
  • Ruggedized, purge/pressurized cart, hosts up to four IRIS units simultaneously
  • Supports long-range tethering
  • Certified Class I Div 2 operation
  • UL 913, UL 60079-0/-11/-19 compliant
  • Certified via field testing & lab evaluation by NRTL partners
  • Predictive maintenance analytics
  • Automated defect detection using computer vision
  • Streamlined QA & inspection validation pipelines

While the hardware anchors IRIS in mission reality, its integration with MetroStar’s Onyx pipeline ensures a future where aircraft inspections are safer, smarter, faster, and more predictive.

Results + Impact

Measurable Gains in Safety, Speed, & Sustainment

As IRIS begins field deployment across U.S. Air Force maintenance units, early metrics and user feedback are confirming what initial testing projected: this warfighter-built solution directly improves aircraft availability, inspection speed, and operational safety in high-risk environments.

Results + Impact

Measurable Gains in Safety, Speed, & Sustainment

As IRIS begins field deployment across U.S. Air Force maintenance units, early metrics and user feedback are confirming what initial testing projected: this warfighter-built solution directly improves aircraft availability, inspection speed, and operational safety in high-risk environments.

Preliminary & Modeled Operational Outcomes

Impact: Real-time communication inside Class I Div 1 zones; zero safety incidents
Source: AFRL and RAF Mildenhall field demos

Impact: IRIS is already completing inspections 60% faster in test environments, cutting downtime and increasing aircraft availability at scale
Source: Pilot evaluations and internal logs

Impact: 35,000 maintainer hours saved leading to 7,000+ aircraft-availability days per year
Source: Modeled from KC-135 maintenance baselines

Impact: One AMW technician can now support 4 simultaneous maintainers
Source: AMW hardware/software configuration test

Impact: Hands-free video and audio logging replaces paper-based documentation
Source: IRIS system software dashboard

Bring IRIS to Your Mission Environment

Whether you’re leading sustainment innovation, managing depot-level operations, or evaluating AI for predictive maintenance, IRIS is ready to deploy. MetroStar’s Defense Innovation team can help you explore, adapt, and scale it to your mission.

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