The world’s biggest plane maker is looking at the future of airplanes to be without the pilots. Yup that’s right, Boeing has revealed plans to make jetliners fly by themselves.
Mike Sinnett, Boeing’s vice president of product development and a pilot, said that “the basic building blocks of the technology clearly are available,” referring to self-flying drones already available commercially which cost less than $1,000.
Now the aircraft manufacturing company said in a briefing ahead of the Paris Airshow that it is testing some of the technology next year, with Sinnett trying it himself in a cockpit simulator this summer.
He said that he will “fly on an airplane next year some artificial intelligence that makes decisions that pilots would make”. In short, a pilotless airplane.
Source: Fly Away Simulation
Airplanes have already been designed to take off, cruise, and land using only onboard flight computers. Plus, over the years, the number of pilots have decreased to two from three, which means that it is indeed possible that airplanes can stand alone sometime in the future.
Of course this development in the aviation industry is not without challenges. The self-flying airplanes will have to meet the safety standards of air travel, and need to convince regulators who don’t yet know how to certify such planes.
“I have no idea how we’re going to do that,” Sinnett said. “But we’re studying it right now and we’re developing those algorithms.”
The Aviation Safety reported that the safest to fly an airplane was in 2016. A clear sign that it’s time that our airplanes evolve into pilotless? No direct correlation, but sure. But if the aviation industry wants pilotless airplanes in hangars, somebody got to start the technology. And that’s Boeing.
Source: Reuters
