Founded in California in 2022, industry newcomer AIBOT is on a mission to revolutionize mobility by crafting a wide range of accessible, software-driven, high-performance aiEVTOL aircraft. In this exclusive interview, based on the first episode of this year's Dawn of Autonomy podcast (formerly known as Dawn of Drones), AIBOT’s Chief Engineer, John Clarkson takes us behind the scenes of AIBOT's remarkable journey, from the creation of a modest small drone to a groundbreaking 500 lb. electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. Read on for an exclusive peek into the world of this dynamic startup, their game-changing aiEVTOL technology, and how it is set to reshape the future of aviation as we know it by turning the dream of flight into a reality for everyone, anytime and anywhere.

Dawn Zoldi: John, please tell us about yourself. 

John Clarkson: Sure. Nurtured by my father I have been building and designing aircraft since the age of 10. From this great foundation I joined the United Kingdom Royal Air Force at the age of 17 and had a successful 27-year career, I finished my service as a squadron leader and joined Airbus as a Head of Engineering. There, I led the design teams for the A320, A380 and A400M. We used traditional aviation techniques and standards to ensure the products met all safety and performance requirements. In 2017, I decided to see whether I could leverage all that experience and make a difference in the eVTOL world. I wanted to get into this embryonic industry and make a difference. 

Dawn Zoldi: How did you find your way to AIBOT?

John Clarkson: I had a phone call from the recruiter which led to a discussion with the company’s CEO. Then they showed me the aircraft. When I saw it, I thought “Wow! This aircraft is both aesthetically pleasing and has promising performance figures.”  The company’s vision and the mission were also exciting to me. So, I moved with my family from the U.K. to the U.S. to join AIBOT to make these incredible aircraft. 

Dawn Zoldi: What inspired the company’s founders to create AIBOT? 

John Clarkson: The founding story is very much rooted in the frustrations with the current transportation system and a desire to revolutionize it by creating safe, efficient and environmentally friendly aircraft that everyone can use every day. 

Dawn Zoldi: What specific challenges in transportation does AIBOT hope to solve? 

John Clarkson: The current transportation systems are inefficient and environmentally unfriendly. There’s a lot of congestion and carbon emissions. For example, if you go from Las Vegas to L.A., you've got to take ground transportation to the airport. Then you may have to wait for takeoff. Once you are close to your destination airport you often get stuck in a holding pattern waiting for a landing slot. Then you must take ground transportation again. All of this is frustrating, time-consuming and fuel hungry. We seek to provide an electric aircraft that can take off vertically, enter the airspace, get to where it's going, and land far more efficiently and effectively than the current system allows. Our role will be to provide regional transportation solutions. We will leave the longer runs, like cross-country transport, to traditional aviation. 

Dawn Zoldi: You mentioned the company’s mission and vision intrigued you. What is AIBOT all about? 

John Clarkson: AIBOT aims to be an industry leader in this embryonic industry that's growing at a rapid rate. We're moving from our current mix of automated and manually operated uncrewed aircraft towards a future of high performance, carbon-free and internet-connected autonomous systems. We are unapologetically ambitious in our goals. We also understand that we need to walk the walk with the regulatory authorities, commercial partners, investors, and the general public. This requires us to introduce the means by which we can validate and then safely integrate our autonomous systems as we drive up the efficiency of operations.  

Dawn Zoldi: Those are pretty lofty goals. How does AIBOT intend to make them a reality? 

John Clarkson: We have a fantastic team and a very good road map to achieve our goals. We are uniquely placing ourselves in the space between the current industry, which predominantly involves smaller drones that fly in lower altitudes for shorter distances, like Amazon Air, and the world of eVTOL and Advanced Air Mobility (AAM), involving much larger passenger aircraft that will fly at higher altitudes for greater distances. We're sort of in between both. We will be using subscale systems initially to build our knowledge, gain experience, test them, and validate the reliability of the systems. We plan to market those units as enterprise drone solutions, as we work towards certification of our larger passenger eVTOL. 

Dawn Zoldi: What approach are you taking, in the design of these aircraft? 

John Clarkson: Our approach is different and also one of our unique selling points. We are developing our systems from the ground up. We are starting with smaller subscale aircraft (note: they're not that small, they're just not full size). They're aviation-standard fully electric, highly automated and uncrewed with a human in the loop on the ground. The key is our in-house developed proprietary software, called Control Allocation, and our cutting-edge avionics. We’ve already flown a fully successful mission with these and proved the effectiveness of our tech.  

Dawn Zoldi: Can you tell us more about Control Allocation? 

John Clarkson: I can't say too much about it, but what I can tell you is that it is the the fundamental cornerstone for our control system. It allows us to utilize all the multiple tens of effectors on the aircraft - meaning a motor, a rotor, a control surface or anything that affects the way the aircraft flies. This allows our flight control system to fly the aircraft smoothly and safely. So, we can lose a control surface, but still have a seamless response during the flight envelope in all aspects of flight. We've already proved we can fly safely, reliably, and stably in all phases of flight. We have done a complete mission with a 500-pound aircraft. We are now on our third-generation aircraft. 

Dawn Zoldi: What sets your technology apart in terms of battery technology? 

John Clarkson: We're working with some OEMS who are doing great work on next gen top-of-the-line battery systems that use really high voltages and guarantee power, energy and reliability. Consistent with our sustainability goals, we're looking at liquid cooling multiport charging. We’re taking lessons learned from the EV sector to charge our aircraft more rapidly and safely.
  

Dawn Zoldi: You've also infused artificial intelligence (AI) into your platforms. What sets AIBOT apart, in terms of autonomy and connectivity? 

John Clarkson: It's very much the ultimate goal for the company to introduce AI into the system as part of its core features. We have a computer system for enhanced autonomy, software-driven connectivity, and precision navigation. This produces customized high performance on all our platforms. We are starting out with a highly automated system, which is a somewhat conventional approach. The aim is that the AI runs in the background. There will be a point where AI will be incorporated as part of the system once the regulatory bodies allow it. That R&D is ongoing now. The bottom line is that we're looking at first using conventional systems with AI in the background, so the AI can learn and adapt to become what it needs to be for the future. 

Dawn Zoldi: How will you ensure that your aircraft and all the associated systems are sufficiently safe and reliable? 

John Clarkson: I came from Airbus and am used to working on large aircraft for passengers. The A380 could hold up to 850 people on board. We use those same systems, procedures, and processes traditionally used in the big OEMs. It’s part of my DNA. Here’s how it works. The team first has to work out the requirements for the aircraft from top to bottom. This includes everything from what the passenger sits on to what power systems will be used. Then we run a functional hazard assessment of the whole airframe, which includes all systems and components. After that, backup testing and detailed design amendments continue. The team carries on that cycle until it reaches the reliability goals we’re aiming for. That’s how it's done in the general aviation world and that's the system that we will be using, even for our subscales. The expectation is that we are developing those systems to carry passengers and fly in the same airspace as crewed aircraft. I want to be able to go to bed and night knowing that my family can travel in that aircraft. At AIBOT, we have very much a “safety first” mindset.  

Dawn Zoldi: Can you tell us about the specifications of the subscale uncrewed aircraft (UA)? 

John Clarkson: The subscale UA has about a 16-foot wingspan and can carry up to 80 pounds of payload. It can hit max speeds up to 180 miles an hour and cover a range of up to 60 miles. Of course, the payload and the range are interrelated. With a reduced load, the range can be extended.  

Dawn Zoldi: You mentioned the middle mile. What are some of the use cases AIBOT envisions for the subscale UA? 

John Clarkson: We're looking at providing a cargo delivery and logistics solution for remote locations. This could include ship-to-shore travel, first responder capabilities, large scale infrastructure inspections (e.g., oil and gas lines), medical resupply and organ transplant, forestry surveillance, traffic surveillance and any sort of real time service monitoring. 

Dawn Zoldi: You have been working hard behind the scenes for a couple years now. Along the way, AIBOT has achieved several milestones. Can you elaborate on some of them? 

John Clarkson: When I joined the company in mid-2022, the team had just completed the first 500-pound demonstrator and were starting a flight test campaign. Within four months, we'd gone from an aircraft sitting on the ground to a full transition mission where the aircraft took off vertically, transitioned to forward flight and cruise and then  

transitioned back and landed all in one flight. That was an incredible achievement. We were a small team at that point, only 12 strong, and we'd achieved something that very few had achieved. 2023 involved some major changes. We started our next generation 500-pound aircraft, and we took it through to its first hover. We went from clean sheet design to a complete aerospace product to first hover in just nine months. Last year we also forged our first major strategic partnership with Honeywell. I’m proud to say that they told us we were “ahead of the game” and “among the top few manufacturers in the second wave of eVTOL aircraft.” Last year we also started our pre-certification discussions with the FAA, as well as securing a $15 million dollar grant from the Cal-Competes Program. 

Dawn Zoldi: What significant impact could this grant funding have on your future endeavors? 

John Clarkson: We expect that our R&D, flight testing and manufacturing will accelerate. We're looking to create just under 700 jobs and nearly half a billion in investment for our business as fallout from the Cal grant. 

Dawn Zoldi: Let’s talk about the future. What can we expect from AIBOT in this and the coming years? 

John Clarkson: In 2024, we're looking to continue developing our software to increase autonomy. We're also looking to increase the capabilities of the aircraft. We started our flight test campaign at the end of last year and will take that forward this year. We'll start to do the full suite of features required for our certification journey with the FAA. We also plan to market our smaller subscale UA as an enterprise solution. Moving into 2025, we're going to launch our first full size prototype. By 2026 we’ll hone the  

engineering on that prototype to be fully compliant with all regulatory requirements with the goal of the full certification by 2028. 

Dawn Zoldi: Do you have any closing comments? 

John Clarkson: We're in extremely exciting times here at AIBOT. We're expanding rapidly and looking to employ over 100 new people on the team in various areas this year. If you're interested in an exciting career in this new world then please look at our website where we’ve got some jobs posted and apply. We'd love to see some really good applicants turn up. 

Dawn Zoldi: Thank you, John, for being our very first Dawn of Autonomy guest and for AIBOT sponsoring this month dedicated to “New Tech.” We look forward to hearing more and will keep our eyes open for AIBOT this year. 

To learn more about AIBOT visit: https://www.aibot.ai/ 

Watch John Clarkson on the Dawn of Drones: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUcTv00x2m4 

Watch AIBOT’s big announcement at CES24 on the Full Crew (Sean Cassidy): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMYITDAoBFk