Video Transcript
It’s being called “an important step forward for the aviation industry.” A recent press release issued by Reliable Robotics has revealed that the company recently flew a large cargo plane 50 miles with no pilot on board.
On loan from FedEx, the Cessna 208B Caravan was piloted remotely, testing the systems’ ability to taxi, takeoff, and land without a human in the cockpit.Reliable Robotics says its system is aviation agnostic, and uses advanced navigation and redundancy features in order to ensure both its capabilities and safety.
In fact, the company says that the uncrewed system is capable of preventing the two scenarios that account for most fatal airplane accidents: controlled flight into terrain, which is where a pilot inadvertently flies into an obstacle, and loss of control.
The Caravan, designed and manufactured by Textron Aviation Inc, offers a useful load of 3,000 pounds, and because it can take off from shorter runways, developers believe the autonomous capabilities will help support emergency or time-sensitive shipments.
According to Bloomberg, this test flight is one component of the overall effort by Reliable to become FAA certified — a feat they believe is possible within the next two years.
Reliable says the remote pilot is responsible for just one plane at a time and will oversee variables such as speed and altitude, though the flight path is dictated by the system. This means the remote operator doesn’t need to control the craft unless there is an unexpected object to avoid.
Bloomberg reports that, during the recent 50-mile Caravan flight test, the remote pilot did little more than handle radio calls.
