NASA Explores Air Taxi Potential with Drone Research

NASA is making significant progress in the development of autonomous drones for air taxi research. Recently, researchers at the Langley Research Center successfully flew multiple drones beyond visual line of sight, showcasing their ability to avoid obstacles and each other without human intervention.

This groundbreaking achievement was made possible through the use of advanced technologies such as ICAROUS (Integrated Configurable Architecture for Reliable Operations of Unmanned Systems). ICAROUS provides an autonomous detect-and-avoid function, ensuring safe distances are maintained between the drones and other air traffic.

Another crucial technology employed in the tests was NASA's Safe2Ditch system. This system allows the drones to observe the ground below and make autonomous decisions on the safest landing spot in the event of an emergency.

"Flying the vehicles beyond visual line of sight, where neither the vehicle nor the airspace is monitored using direct human observation, demonstrates years of research into automation and safety systems," said Lou Glaab, branch head for aeronautics systems engineering at NASA Langley.

NASA believes that testing self-flying technology on smaller drones is a safer and more cost-effective approach. By doing so, they can refine and mature the autonomy of these systems before integrating them into larger, passenger-carrying air taxis. NASA is also conducting tests using helicopters to further explore elements of automation technology.

"When you have multiple vehicles, all coming and going from a vertiport that is located adjacent to an airport or deep within a community, we have to ensure the automation technologies of these vehicles are capable of safely handling a high volume of air traffic in a busy area," added Glaab.

The flights of the autonomous drones were closely monitored by NASA researchers from the Remote Operations for Autonomous Missions UAS Operations Center at Langley.

These advancements in autonomous drone technology bring us one step closer to a future where air taxis are a common mode of transportation, offering convenience and efficiency to passengers.

Images: NASA / Bowman

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