Alexander Lewis
Dec 24, 2023
After flying 50 miles without a pilot and using the semi-automated system, an ordinary cargo plane marked a milestone in the sphere of unmanned aviation last month.
The remarkable no-pilot flight was conducted this month by Reliable Robotics —a California-based automation systems company working with the US military to integrate the technology into larger aircraft — boasted the successful flight with a plane Cessna 208B Caravan.
David Souciem, an aviation expert in an interview with CNN, said the technology being worked upon since 2019 could set aside the pilot shortage.
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Citing CNN, Business Insider reported that every communication sent to the plane during the flight includes landing instructions considering the probability of a communication failure.
While being remotely operated from a control centre 50 miles away by a human pilot, the plane took off from Hollister Airport in Northern California to successfully conclude a 12-minute flight, according to an official press release.
The semi-automated system — wherein a pilot sends encrypted satellite signals to the aircraft — is aimed at reducing the risk of mid-flight loss of control and improving safety measures in terms of take-off and landing.
Robert Rose, CEO of Reliable Robotics, said "This is not a video game. There's no joystick and you don't have the ability to hand-fly the plane remotely," while adding that "there's no video feed that gives you real-time feedback."
The company CEO maintained "You could say that the aircraft is autonomous. If you tell it to do nothing else, or if you lose communication with it, it's going to do the last thing you told it to do, which is the definition of autonomy. It has no direct human control."
He said the system would aid airlines in operating flights while pilots working from a single location.
