CMU spinoff will create robotic pilots for U.S. Air Force
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
A Carnegie Mellon University robotics spinoff has been tapped by the U.S. Air Force to help develop autonomous aircraft under a $1.5 million contract.
But RE2, a Lawrenceville-based company founded in 2001, will not attempt to reinvent the wheel.
Rather than adapt current vehiclesto autonomous flight standards, the company will create a retrofit drop-in robotic system that will essentially allow robots to take control of traditional aircraft like a human.
The robotic system — called the Common Aircraft Retrofit for Novel Autonomous Control, or CARNAC — has the potential to enhance system performance of existing platforms, reduce costs and enable new missions as human safety concerns will be reduced.
The system will include robotic arms that mimic the dexterity of a human; cameras to perceive and process gauges; and dials and actuators that will be able to engage pedals and other controls, said Jorge nPe der sen,p resident and CEO of RE 2.
The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is currently researching autonomous copiloting in aircrafts, and other companies are conducting research to automate modern aircraft, but RE2 is working on the first autonomous retrofit kit that would enable complete
autonomous piloting in a legacy aircraft, Mr. Pedersen said.
The robotically piloted system will be supported by the U.S.government’s Small Business Innovation Research program — a highly competitive initiative that enables small businesses to engage in federal research and development.
“We responded to an SBIR solicitation for this specific program and were awarded the project based on our expertise and proposed solution,” Mr. Pedersen said.
In the past, RE2 has partnered with the U.S. Air Force to develop robotic manipulator arms, one of the company’s specialties.
Over the course of 12 months, the company will conduct testing to prove that its retrofit system is compatible with traditional aircraft architecture.
RE2 will also demonstrate that its system can effectively use humanoidrobotic manipulation capabilities, vision-based flightstatus recognition and cognitive architecture-based decision making without adjusting the vehicles.
“If the Air Force likes what they see, we hope to receive follow-on funding to develop and test the full system in a legacy aircraft,” Mr. Pedersen said.
Courtney Linder: clinder@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1707. Twitter: @LinderPG.