Reliable Robotics, a company that is equipping airplanes with an autonomous capability, has announced that it has completed successful test flights of remote-piloted passenger airplanes in United States airspace, which is considered a historic first for global commercial aviation.

During the first flight, an unmanned four passenger Cessna 172 Skyhawk (C172) automatically taxied, took off, and landed after the pilot pressed a button on a remote user interface. Most recently, the company demonstrated fully automated remote landing of an even larger aircraft, the Cessna 208 Caravan (C208), which is capable of carrying 14 passengers.

“Automated aircraft are going to fundamentally shift the entire airline business, and Reliable Robotics is well positioned to be a key player in this new market,” says David Neeleman, founder of five commercial airlines including JetBlue Airways.

“The progress their team has demonstrated in a short amount of time is very impressive.”

Reliable Robotics equipped the 2,550-pound C172 with its autonomous platform. The company began the C172 program in Jan. 2018 and completed fully automated gate-to-gate operation before the end of that year. Before the unmanned test flight in Sept. 2019, extensive system safety analysis and testing was conducted. 

According to Reliable Robotics, this was the first time a privately funded company operated a passenger airplane of this type with no pilot on board over a populated region. The company adds that this was an important step in certifying the autonomous platform for repeated, safe civil use on certified aircraft.

“We spent the first portion of our flight test program focused on the C172. We thoroughly tested every aspect of our system in simulation and conducted rigorous safety checks before operating the aircraft without a pilot on board and are now proud to share what we’ve been working on,” explains Robert Rose, co-founder and CEO of Reliable Robotics.

“By bringing advanced automation to aviation, we will deliver higher safety, reliability and convenience for cargo operators and eventually for passengers.”

Reliable Robotics designed and built a proprietary autonomous platform that can be applied to any fixed-wing aircraft. The platform includes avionics, software, mechanisms, a communications system, remote command interfaces. It also includes a backup system that has the capability to take over if necessary. Following the C172 program, it was adapted for use on the larger C208.

Reliable Robotics says that it is now working with the FAA on incrementally bringing this technology to market, as it has already demonstrated automated landing on the C208 in July 2020.

Founded in 2017 by engineers who believe aircraft should fly themselves, Reliable Robotics has raised a total of $33.5 million in two funding rounds. The company will use the funding to build components of the remote hardware and software needed to retrofit aircraft and to continue hiring top aerospace and engineering talent.