Airbus exploring single-pilot, autonomous plane
Aircraft manufacturers racing to develop AI that will enable computers to fly planes without humans at the controls
Airbus is looking to develop autonomous aircraft and technologies that will allow a single pilot to operate commercial jetliners, helping cut costs for carriers, Chief Technology Officer Paul Eremenko said.
“The more disruptive approach is to say maybe we can reduce the crew needs for our future aircraft,” Eremenko told Bloomberg Television in an interview broadcast yesterday.
“We’re pursuing single-pilot operation as a potential option and a lot of the technologies needed to make that happen has also put us on the path towards unpiloted operation.”
The aerospace industry has begun seeing a similar trend as the car market, where automakers are investing in or acquiring autonomous driving start-ups.
Aircraft manufacturers including Airbus and Boeing are racing to develop artificial intelligence that will one day enable computers to fly planes without human beings at the controls.
Turning that idea into a practical reality won’t be easy in an industry where at least two pilots in the cockpit have been the norm for commercial flights for several decades.
After a Germanwings pilot flew an A320 plane into the French Alps in March 2015, killing all 150 people on board, many airlines around the world made at least two people in the cockpit mandatory at all times.
In addition to there being no transport-category aircraft certificated for a single pilot or pilotless flight, it’s unclear whether passengers or their insurers or carriers would accept or permit it, said aviation consultant Robert Mann, a former American Airlines executive.
“People are arguably apprehensive about these kinds of things,” said Shukor Yusof, founder of aviation consulting firm Endau Analytics in Malaysia. “You have driverless cars, driverless buses, but for something that flies, that’s something different.”
Airbus has a division called Urban Air Mobility that is exploring technology from ondemand helicopter rides to delivery drones. Boeing said last month it purchased a company that is developing flying taxis for Uber Technologies and also bought into a hybrid-electric aeroplane company.
Last week, Airbus agreed to set up an innovation centre in China’s Shenzhen, near Hong Kong. The facility will help accelerate research needed to chart the future of air travel.