Engineers at BAE Systems are researching a "smart skin" concept to embed thousands of micro-sensors onto an aircraft body.

The sensors -- each would be the size of a grain of rice or even as small as a dust particle -- would be used to sense wind speed, temperature, physical strain and movement, and to detect potential problems with the plane before they became significant.

"By combining the outputs of thousands of sensors with big data analysis, the technology has the potential to be a game-changer for the UK industry," said BAE Systems Senior Research Scientist Lydia Hyde. "In the future we could see more robust defense platforms that are capable of more complex missions while reducing the need for routine maintenance checks.

"There are also wider civilian applications for the concept which we are exploring."

Hyde, who is leading the research at BAE System's Advanced Technology Center, came upon the idea while drying her laundry, she said.

"Observing how a simple sensor can be used to stop a domestic appliance overheating, got me thinking about how this could be applied to my work and how we could replace bulky, expensive sensors with cheap, miniature, multi-functional ones," she said. "This in turn led to the idea that aircraft, or indeed cars and ships, could be covered by thousands of these motes (mini-sensors) creating a 'smart skin' that can sense the world around them and monitor their condition by detecting stress, heat or damage."

"The idea is to make platforms 'feel' using a skin of sensors in the same way humans or animals do."