Autonomous drone technology is, to an extent, already available. To demonstrate, let’s assume the aerospace industry were to adopt the automotive industry’s five levels of autonomy. If so, then we can define: Level 0: There is no autonomy. Level 1: There are autonomous systems, like altitude control, but the pilot is in control. Level 2: There…
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A fully autonomous ship called the “Mayflower” will make its voyage across the Atlantic Ocean next September, to mark the 400-year anniversary of the trip of the first Mayflower, which was very much not autonomous. It’s a stark way to drive home just how much technology has advanced in the last four centuries, but also…
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Have you ever been to an aerospace factory? As a business developer in this industry, I know the numbers and a good deal about the technology behind building an aircraft. Still, seeing an aeroplane production hall for the first time left me dumbfounded. The sheer size of the parts, towering aircraft tail sections, large cantilevered…
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Many airliners can land automatically, but they don’t really land autonomously — the airport is guiding them in with a radio signal (the Instrument Landing System). And when many smaller airports don’t have this feature, it’s not even an option. Researchers at Technische Universität München might just make true autonomous landing a practical reality, though.…
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The Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) has issued a solicitation for a tiny, “self-contained and free-flying orbital outpost” that can host experiments and equipment in orbit and could eventually be scaled up for human habitation. The Orbital Outpost that’s being solicited would be small: it needs to have at least a cubic meter of space…
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While everyone on the ground is stressing about self-driving cars, the future of flight is also moving more toward autonomous planes, as seen at the 2019 edition of the Paris Air Show. The air show is one of the biggest aerospace events annually and everyone from established names to newer companies showed off concept craft…
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