VIDEO: Autonomous commercial helicopters are now a thing

06/03/2016 - 07:00


Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) Company, has successfully demonstrated a 30-mile autonomous flight using a Sikorsky S-76® commercial helicopter to complete Phase 1 of an $8 million award from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)’s Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System (ALIAS) program.

Sikorsky’s ALIAS system directed the rotorcraft flight demonstration from Sikorsky’s Stratford, Connecticut, facility to Robertson Airport in Plainville, Connecticut, utilizing autonomous technology capabilities.

This flight highlighted the ability for an operator to plan and execute every phase of an autonomous mission with a tablet device.

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