A California company is taking a novel approach to autonomous aviation by making human pilots an integral part of its development. While many of the more advanced drone hopefuls have created elaborate clean-sheet designs, San Francisco startup Xwing is heaping new technology into a proven design with room for a human to act as pilot in command. “This is the fastest way to get to commercial uncrewed flight,” company founder Marc Piette told The Wall Street Journal. Xwing is equipping a fleet of Grand Caravans used for routine cargo flights with gear to gather data on everything from navigation to emergency procedures. Assuming it all works, the company hopes to have pilotless Caravans flying cargo long before the first clean-sheet designs are certified.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/pilots-on-board-to-develop-pilotless-technology