Listen to this article 2 min
A Mountain View aviation startup is propelling its way towards garnering regulatory approval for its autonomous flight system.
Reliable Robotics Corp. announced Wednesday it flew a small cargo plane without a human on board. It is a move the company said is helping it win approval from the Federal Aviation Administration for its system that will deploy traditional airplanes that fly completely autonomously, from takeoff to landing.
"This industry-first flight is a demonstration of remote operation of the world’s most popular cargo plane, highlighting that the technology works and is within reach," Robert Rose, the company’s CEO, told the Business Journal. "The ability to certify the system under existing regulations without special conditions or exemptions is critical to its safe integration into the National Airspace System"
The flight, which took place last month, took off from Hollister Municipal Airport and lasted 12 minutes. The flight, using a plane from FedEx Corp., was monitored from Reliable’s headquarters, about 50 miles away from takeoff. The demonstration was the company’s second automated flight.
In June, the FAA signed off on Reliable's certification plan for its system. At the time, the company had recorded 3 million successful automated landings in simulation, according to an interview at the time with Rose. The company did not provide the Business Journal with updated figures.
"While we’ve flown with the Reliable autonomous system engaged hundreds of times with a safety pilot onboard supervising, this demonstration further validates that the system works when you move the pilot to a control center on the ground," Rose said.
Rose's startup has contracts with the U.S. Air Force and NASA to develop and test autonomous flight capabilities, and find ways to safely integrate no-crewed aircraft into the nation's airspace. But the company is exploring several other ways to commercialize its technology once it obtains the FAA's stamp of approval for commercial use.
According to Bloomberg, the company is looking to get FAA approval within two years.
Now, FedEx will act as a partner with the company going forward but has not committed to using Reliable’s technology.
The company said it is looking for technologies that can enrich its services in remote locations.
"We look forward to further testing and learning throughout this collaboration with Reliable Robotics," a company representative told the Business Journal.
Reliable, which has raised $134.2 million in venture funding to date, according to PitchBook Data, has been testing its system both on simulators and, since 2018, on actual planes flying out of its hanger in San Martin in southern Santa Clara County, including in a Cessna Caravan 208B. PitchBook pegs the company's valuation at $550 million.