It’s a frontier that’s ripe for autonomous technologies
In 2009, Popular Mechanics gave a Breakthrough Award to Sikorsky’s X2 Technology Demonstrator, a dual-rotor, coaxial helicopter that could fly nearly twice as fast as other vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) vehicles. Now the same research department has announced it is developing software and hardware called Matrix intended to “improve significantly the capability, reliability, and safety” of autonomous VTOL aircraft.
Autonomous fixed-wing aircraft are advancing rapidly. Just last month, the Navy’s fighter jet-sized drone, the X-47B, successfully landed on an aircraft carrier without the help of a human pilot—a notable achievement considering aircraft carrier landings are arguably a pilot’s most difficult task. But rotorcraft autonomy is advancing more slowly. That’s because while fixed-wing aircraft tend to fly in open air, thousands of feet off the ground, helicopters are more likely to find themselves in the thick of things. They fly low and have to contend with vegetation, rocks and other obstacle-cluttered environments, and bad weather and dust storms.
“It’s a frontier that’s ripe for autonomous technologies, but it hasn’t been done in a way that is robust, with reliability and safety,” Sikorsky’s VP of research and engineering Mark Miller tells PopMech.
The company says its Matrix technology research program will build software platforms that are pilot-optional, meaning they could be used for manned and unmanned aircraft, and which could be implemented across a variety of different vehicles. A key to making VTOL autonomous systems safer and more reliable will be to give them a flexible intelligence, so that if a helicopter drone is flying a pre-programmed route and runs into turbulence, the system can adapt to the changing conditions. Such systems will eventually be useful for tasks like patrolling a border, shuttling personnel to and from offshore oil rigs, or for sending on search-and-rescue missions that would endanger a pilot or crew members onboard.
More immediately, autonomy systems could serve as pilots’ aides, taking over low-level tasks and making it safer and easier to fly in rough environments and adverse weather. “With the X2 we can get even closer to the ground and fly even faster” than conventional helicopters, says Chris Van Buiten, Sikorsky’s vice president for technology and innovation.
The Latest Bing News on:
Autonomous Helicopters
- US Air Force Advances with Anduril and GA-ASI in Developing Next-Gen Collaborative Combat Aircrafton April 26, 2024 at 11:25 pm
In a significant move to augment its air combat capabilities, the US Air Force has selected Anduril and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) to advance into the next phase of its ...
- Ingenuity Mars Helicopter down but definitely not outon April 26, 2024 at 1:28 pm
NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, which vastly exceeded all expectations, has relayed its final transmission back to Earth. Now it's onto a new phase of its mission where it will continue to collect ...
- First pilotless eVTOL aircraft to enter mass productionon April 26, 2024 at 7:56 am
China has taken a stride towards commercial operation of autonomous flying taxis by awarding EHang Holdings a Production Certificate for its EH216-S passenger-carrying pilotless electric vertical ...
- China Green-Lights Mass Production of Autonomous Flying Taxison April 26, 2024 at 6:59 am
China green-lights mass production of autonomous flying taxis. EHang got its first certification and plans to release the first one in 2035.
- 'AI Is Important...For The Way We Deter Wars,' Says Anduril Founder After Winning US Air Force Contract To Develop Autonomous Fighter Jetson April 26, 2024 at 4:54 am
Palmer Luckey, founder of Anduril Industries, has praised his company’s contract with the U.S. Air Force to develop autonomous fighter jets. What Happened: During CNBC’s “Last Call” on Thursday, ...
- XPONENTIAL 2024 Opens With An Emphasis on Autonomous Military Techon April 25, 2024 at 8:20 am
Keynote Sets Tone for New Leadership AUVSI plans to launch “Robot Ready” Campaign in 2025. Michael Brasseur (USN Ret.), Chief Strategy Officer at Saab Inc., and Aaron Pierce, CEO of Pierce Aerospace, ...
- China green-lights mass production of autonomous flying taxis — with commercial flights set for 2025on April 25, 2024 at 4:00 am
The EHang EH216-S autonomous flying taxi is the first eVTOL ready for mass production and could lead the way for flying cars around the world.
- Air Force Picks Anduril And General Atomics To Build And Test Collaborative Combat Aircrafton April 25, 2024 at 3:53 am
The U.S. Air Force has awarded the two companies the funding for detailed designs, manufacture, and testing of production representative test articles ...
- Anduril and General Atomics advance in USAF autonomous fighter programmeon April 24, 2024 at 4:48 pm
Two manufacturers have been selected by the US Air Force to advance in the competition to develop an autonomous fighter aircraft.
- Air Force doesn't pick Boeing to make first batch of autonomous droneson April 24, 2024 at 3:39 pm
The Collaborative Combat Aircraft program aims to deliver at least 1,000 autonomous drones, which would create a swarming effect to evade air defenses alongside piloted crewed fighters.
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Autonomous Helicopters
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Autonomous Helicopters” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
The Latest Bing News on:
Autonomous VTOL aircraft
- China Green-Lights Mass Production of Autonomous Flying Taxison April 26, 2024 at 6:59 am
China green-lights mass production of autonomous flying taxis. EHang got its first certification and plans to release the first one in 2035.
- China approves first commercial production for autonomous flying taxison April 25, 2024 at 2:54 pm
China has approved the first ever commercial license for large scale manufacture of eVTOL autonomous flying taxis ...
- China green-lights mass production of autonomous flying taxis — with commercial flights set for 2025on April 25, 2024 at 4:00 am
The EHang EH216-S autonomous flying taxi is the first eVTOL ready for mass production and could lead the way for flying cars around the world.
- Robinson Helicopter Buys UAS Company In Its First Acquisitionon April 24, 2024 at 1:20 am
The purchase of Ascent is the second acquisition of a UAS company by a major helicopter OEM this year. In January, Airbus Helicopters acquired Bingen, Washington-based Aerovel, a producer of a ...
- Mayman Aerospace unveiling first full-scale model of Razor™ P100 military VTOL during SOF Week 2024on April 23, 2024 at 11:32 am
Mayman Aerospace will unveil a full-scale model of Razor, its high-speed Air Utility Vehicle, during SOF Week 2024, May 6-10 in Tampa, Florida. Razor is the name for the military variant of the ...
- Are Flying Cars Finally Here?on April 14, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Leng, who had been flying since he was a teen-ager, had long dreamed of the “perfect aircraft”—something “that didn ... Others fly themselves: EHang, a Chinese company, has been testing an autonomous ...
- Video: Odd Spanish eVTOL demonstrates fractal propulsion systemon April 8, 2024 at 11:42 pm
with a range of autonomous and remote-controlled ground vehicles working in fleet-managed concert with electric VTOL aircraft to streamline cargo and passenger operations. As such, the company has ...
- EHang gains production certificate for EH216 autonomous eVTOLon April 8, 2024 at 1:53 am
Chinese regulators have awarded EHang the production certificate for its autonomous EH216-S electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. The move now means EHang has been greenlit by ...
- EHang Earns Production Certificate for Autonomous eVTOL Aircrafton April 6, 2024 at 5:00 pm
253 preowned business aircraft transactions closed in Q1, up from 239 in the first three months of 2023 ...
- Coming Soon: Autonomous F-16 Fighting Falcons?on April 2, 2024 at 4:59 pm
This initiative aims to explore autonomy in crewed and uncrewed aircraft, potentially revolutionizing future air combat by developing autonomous "loyal wingmen." While not intending to convert the ...
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Autonomous VTOL aircraft
[google_news title=”” keyword=”autonomous VTOL aircraft” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]