![]() “The collaboration will enable AIBot to realize its vision of creating a sustainable and efficient transportation ecosystem.” It is derived from decades of expertise providing similar systems for commercial airliners,” said David Shilliday, v-p and general manager of Honeywell Aerospace’s advanced air mobility division. “Our compact fly-by-wire system is a ready-now solution to advance the future of sustainable flight. Lilium has also selected the Honeywell cFBW system for its Lilium Jet eVTOL aircraft, and Pipistrel is using the system in its Nuuva family of cargo UAVs. This makes it particularly well suited for Part 23 airplanes, eVTOL aircraft, and other urban air mobility (UAM) vehicles, according to Honeywell. It has features derived from Honeywell's fly-by-wire systems for larger airplanes, all packed into a device the size of a book. We'll have a lot of automation systems in the background making sure that he does it safely, but at the end of the day, he can either hand it all over to the aircraft or do some of it himself.” Honeywell's Compact Fly-By-Wire System Was Designed for UAMįor the flight controls, AIBot chose Honeywell’s compact fly-by-wire (cFBW) system because the lightweight equipment provides more flexibility in the aircraft’s design without compromising on power-and it can be used for remotely piloted operations. “If wants to fly it manually, then it'll be up to him. A pilot can choose to take over manual control of the aircraft at any time. “Until the regulatory environment allows it, AI will be developed in the background and it won't be part of the primary commercial product until it's approved,” which likely won’t happen until after 2030, he added.Įven without AI capabilities, AIBot’s autopilot system is so highly automated that the aircraft essentially flies itself, so the pilot’s role will become mostly supervisory. “We are working with the FAA and EASA to ensure that we have a good roadmap to AI being incorporated into the aircraft, but up to that point, we will be developing conventional but high-tech, cutting-edge software,” he said. “AI is a tricky subject for the aviation authorities because it's nondeterministic software,” Clarkson told AIN. But until air safety regulators decide on how to certify novel AI technologies, human pilots will still be required. ![]() Automation Before Artificial IntelligenceĮventually, AIBot aims to introduce fully autonomous and pilotless versions of each aircraft with new AI capabilities integrated into the flight controls, such as a detect-and-avoid system. AIBot aims to bring a remotely piloted drone to market by the end of 2024, with a single-pilot, six-passenger eVTOL air taxi to follow in 2028 or 2029. The Long Beach, California-based company has already built and flown five subscale technology demonstrators and intends to reveal its first full-scale prototype in the next two years, he said. Having recently received a $15 million award from the California Competes grant program, it is preparing to launch a funding round in January, AIBot chief engineer John Clarkson told AIN.Ĭlarkson explained that AIBot is developing a seven-seat eVTOL air taxi as well as a smaller uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV), or drone, with a similar configuration. While AIBot is not yet ready to share many details about the design of its AI-powered eVTOL aircraft, the company revealed last month that it will use Honeywell’s compact fly-by-wire flight control system. AIBot has emerged from stealth mode with plans to introduce a seven-seat eVTOL aircraft with highly automated flight controls powered by artificial intelligence (AI).
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