Joby Aviation sent a Cessna Caravan 3,199 miles across the US, with its autonomous system handling the flight and a safety pilot watching from inside.
According to TechSpot, the modified single-engine turboprop left Concord, California, earlier this month. Joby said the pilot did not operate the aircraft during the multi-stop trip, which tested considerably more than whether a computer could point a plane east and leave it there.
The system handled taxiing, takeoffs and landings, along with route changes during the flight. It navigated the busy Phoenix area and diverted around thunderstorms and severe weather fronts. Demonstration stops included Alliance Airport in Fort Worth, Texas, and Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina.
Joby claims this was the first fully autonomous flight across the country by an aeroplane. The company tested a system capable of handling the trip without the pilot’s help, while keeping a human aboard if the silicon developed an unexpected interest in cornfields.
Joby founder and chief executive JoeBen Bevirt said the technology could “connect remote communities, deliver critical supplies, respond faster to disasters, support military operations, and keep pilots out of harm’s way.”
The Caravan is used for cargo, utility work and regional passenger services, including routes to smaller airports where repeated flights might eventually suit autonomous operations.
Near the end of the eastbound journey, the plane made a low pass by the First Flight Monument at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The Wright brothers managed their 1903 flight without a safety pilot, although their aircraft had much less distance to cover.
Airliners already automate parts of a flight, including maintaining course and altitude. Joby’s test also put the system in charge of ground operations and airport procedures. The company expects the Caravan to fly autonomously back to California, with planned stops in Washington, D.C., Kentucky, Kansas, Oklahoma, Utah and Oregon.
