According to data from Reliable Robotics (referred to simply as “Reliable” throughout this story), “more than 70% of fatal general aviation accidents in the U.S. can be prevented with advanced automation systems.”
This is why Reliable is leveraging IoT and taking further action.
By building out its FAA certifiable system that enables continuous autopilot engagement through all phases of flight (including auto-taxi, auto-takeoff and auto-landing), well-designed advanced automation can significantly reduce the occurrence of common fatal aviation accidents. Additionally, the experts at Reliable state that advanced automation can fundamentally transform how people and goods move all around the world. “Since 2019,” one Reliable representative added, “more than 300 rural communities have experienced reduced or eliminated air service. Our technologies will improve access to thousands of general aviation airports across the United States.”
With its certification-forward approach the company has been taking since its inception back in July of 2017 (i.e. a team founded by former SpaceX and Tesla leaders on a mission to bring recent advancements in space and autonomy to aviation, to make aviation safer and more accessible), Reliable seeks to enable remote operation for any type of aircraft to make things equal parts simpler, more efficient, and affordable.
And in this vein of expanding advanced automation for the greater good, news broke recently that Reliable completed a series of automated missions across airfields in California and Nevada for the Department of the Air Force.
In conjunction with Air Combat Command, Reliable demonstrated key aircraft automation capabilities as part of the Agile Flag 24-3 exercise transporting cargo between military bases and airports (some hundreds of miles apart, notably) over the course of a week. This exercise was reportedly designed “to be representative of the Indo-Pacific region,” which demands critical, agile readiness in terms of multi-domain operations.
More from the official news release:
“Automated flights of a Cessna 208B Caravan included auto-taxi, auto-takeoff, en-route navigation, and auto-landing. All flights were managed by Reliable’s remote pilot while an onboard pilot monitored. Reliable deployed a mobile control station onsite at Mojave Air and Space Port, which served as a base of operations for the military exercise. The rapid deployment of Reliable’s mobile control station enabled onsite demonstrations of the remote piloting side of the operation for Air Force and NASA personnel.”
Throughout this exercise, Reliable flew to eight total locations, transporting essential cargo. All flights were expedited and scheduled “on-demand” and did not require deployment of any additional infrastructure for automated flight, demonstrating the additional utility and flexibility automation can provide. Preparation for the exercise required obtaining military airworthiness and flight safety approvals for expanded operations from the U.S. Air Force and the Air force Research Laboratory (AFRL).
“We are proud to participate in military exercises. Agile Flag provided us the opportunity to show how our autonomous flight system benefits defense missions and to demonstrate timely mission readiness,” expressed Dr. David O’Brien, Major General (Ret.), and Senior Vice President of Government Solutions at Reliable Robotics. “We remain committed to serve and support the U.S. Air Force and other branches of our nation’s military.”
Learn more here.
Edited by
Greg Tavarez
