Autonomous aircraft systems developer Reliable Robotics has been awarded an Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Phase III Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract to further demonstrate the performance and safety of remotely piloted aircraft in more operating environments.
With this award, Reliable Robotics will build on its set of autonomy solutions to optimize aircraft control under a broad range of contingencies, and then test them in a series of flight test campaigns.
The company has now won sequential Phase I, Phase II and Phase III SBIR contracts from the government to advance autonomous capabilities for existing aircraft.
“We value our strong partnership with the Air Force and AFWERX to advance multiple autonomy solutions across the Department of Defense for various aircraft platforms,” said Kevin Sagis, Senior Vice President and Chief Engineer at Reliable Robotics. “We look forward to collaborating again and building on the progress our team made during the successful Phase II SBIR contract. This effort dovetails very well with our commercial autonomy development, accelerating our remote piloting solution for the benefit of both commercial and government customers.”
Reliable Robotics is pursuing Federal Aviation Administration certification of a system that enables continuous autopilot engagement through all phases of flight, including taxi, takeoff and landing. This system, combined with other core technologies the company is developing and certifying, will enable aircraft to be operated by a remote pilot.
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