51–60 of 182 posts
We built avionics, software, mechanisms and a comm system that enables automated operation of the plane from a remote command station. The remote operator has a GUI where they can command the aircraft.
This article goes into a bit more detail about how it works: https://www.flightglobal.com/airframers/with-tesla-and-space...
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Right, but that requires a fairly reliable radio link (that we don't have, e.g. MH370). Or perhaps a set of dedicated routes, with ATC actively routing other traffic around the robots?
So get one. Partner with SpaceX or oneweb and plot courses only where you will have continuous connectivity. We pilot drones in warzones remotely, the technology exists to pilot then in peace time.
True but we also are ok with those drones getting destroyed.
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To be fair, maintaining straight and level flight— i.e., not falling out of the sky— is the easiest part of flying an airplane. Computers have been good at that for a while; in fact, that’s how airline flights are controlled these days during basically all of cruise flight (by autopilot). Takeoff and landing are the tricky parts. (I say this as someone who’s firmly on the skeptical side of the spectrum regarding the…
Handling mechanical failures and other in-flight emergencies are the tricky parts.
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Don't forget that aircraft falls on someone or someone's property.
To be fair, maintaining straight and level flight— i.e., not falling out of the sky— is the easiest part of flying an airplane. Computers have been good at that for a while; in fact, that’s how airline flights are controlled these days during basically all of cruise flight (by autopilot). Takeoff and landing are the tricky parts. (I say this as someone who’s firmly on the skeptical side of the spectrum regarding the…
Takeoff and landing when the weather is fine is already a solved problem. So is taxiing.
https://newatlas.com/aircraft/airbus-attol-autonomous-airlin...
Who do people think will have their jobs replaced first, cargo pilots or truck drivers? One big factor is it often comes down to which worker group has a stronger union and likewise entrenched political interests at local levels, as we've seen in technological progress elsewhere. Second to that is probably the safety regulatory process. 'AI' or computer automation has also been used heavily in airplanes for a long ti…
The "cost of the pilot" / "cost of the operation" metric gives us this order: urban transportation, inter-city ground transportation, air transportation, water transportation. The difficulty of automating it metric gives us this order: air transportation, water transportation, inter-city ground transportation, urban transportation. So I'm personally expecting a mix: air transportation, inter-city ground transportatio…
We're hiring! https://reliable.co/careers/ We built avionics, software, mechanisms and a comm system that enables automated operation of the plane from a remote command station. The remote operator has a GUI where they can command the aircraft. This article goes into a bit more detail about how it works: https://www.flightglobal.com/airframers/with-tesla-and-space...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Don't forget that aircraft falls on someone or someone's property.
To be fair, maintaining straight and level flight— i.e., not falling out of the sky— is the easiest part of flying an airplane. Computers have been good at that for a while; in fact, that’s how airline flights are controlled these days during basically all of cruise flight (by autopilot). Takeoff and landing are the tricky parts. (I say this as someone who’s firmly on the skeptical side of the spectrum regarding the…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
And they're already loud. If they proliferate, whether human operated or autonomous, the noise will increase. +1 vote for heavily regulating noise pollution.
Noise pollution from airports is regulated. Many airports have departure patterns that avoid areas sensitive to noise. Drones are going to need similar regulation, I agree.
There needs to be a pollution (including noise) tax collected to counterweight the inevitable of potentially non-stop swarm of buzzing that will be making 10,000s to 100,000s of deliveries in cities everyday.