When we last heard about the Cormorant UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle), it had made its first untethered autonomous flight. Now, the VTOL (Vertical Takeoff and Landing) aircraft has performed a small-scale mission for prospective buyers.
Continue Reading
An Autonomous Aerial Cargo Utility System (AACUS)-enabled UH-1H helicopter has autonomously delivered 520 lb (236 kg) of water, gasoline, MREs, communications gear, and a cooler capable of carrying urgent supplies such as blood to US Marines in the field.
Continue Reading
MIT engineers have built a hybrid robotic glider that enjoys the best of both the aerial and on-water worlds. Their Albatross glider soars like a bird and skims the water like a sail craft, yet requires less wind than an albatross needs to stay aloft, and can travel 10 times faster than a sailboat.
Continue Reading
If you own a consumer drone, chances are you crashed the thing a lot when learning to fly it. Well, the same thing happens when the pros are teaching drones to fly autonomously. Those wipe-outs could become a lot less common, however, thanks to the Flight Goggles virtual reality system.
Continue Reading
AirSpaceX has given a preview of its vision for the future of air taxi services at this year's NAIAS in Detroit. The company unveiled a sub-scale model of Mobi-One, an autonomous, tilt-wing, electric, VTOL aircraft designed to carry both passengers and cargo at speeds of up to 250 mph (400 km/h).
Continue Reading
You may like your little consumer quadcopter, but Boeing has just unveiled something with a tad more … heft. Referred to as an electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing (eVTOL) cargo air vehicle (CAV), the unmanned prototype aircraft is designed to carry a payload of up to 500 lb (227 kg).
Continue Reading
Aurora Flight Sciences has successfully demonstrated an autonomous flight system that can be retrofitted to existing helicopters. A US Marine Corps UH-1H AACUS-enabled helicopter demonstrated its autonomous flight and operational capabilities by executing a series of re-supply missions.
Continue Reading
Boeing has been in the aviation game for over a century, but its recent moves suggest it won't be resting on its laurels. Following the launch of a US$2 million personal flying machine contest, it will acquire Aurora Flight Sciences, a company enlisted in to work on Uber's flying taxi project.
Continue Reading
See the stories that matter in your inbox every morning