Stratford-headquartered Sikorsky Aircraft is collaborating with NASA’s Advanced Air Mobility researchers and the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop and test automation software for autonomous aerial vehicles, more commonly known as flying taxis.
According to an Aviation Today report, the research uses a revamped version of Sikorsky”™s S-76B helicopter and the Optionally Piloted Vehicle Black Hawk helicopter as the aircraft stand-ins for air taxis. The aircraft are the focus of tests to determine the viability of NASA-created automation software and the accompanying flight control tablets across different flight situations.
two specialized helicopters as substitutes for air taxis, relies heavily on advanced simulations. The tests will simulate potential conflict scenarios to measure the new software’s algorithms.
“The software design begins with conceptualizing what future advanced air mobility vehicle operations and flight behavior scenarios might look like,” said Ethan Williams, the project’s lead software developer. “We then refine the software requirements under development, so it behaves as expected enabling the proposed advanced air mobility air taxi operations. The simulation, using the tablets and ground control room displays, helps to identify potential issues prior to actual flight testing.”
Photo courtesy Sikorsky Aircraft / Lockheed Martin
