A British company is creating the world’s first fully autonomous helicopter that will be able to fly without the need for a pilot.
Engineers from Leonardo Helicopters UK are working on an experimental aircraft that will be able to fly completely by itself.
The helicopter – dubbed Proteus – is a research project for the Royal Navy and could one day be tasked with missions.
The team behind the project is hoping to get Proteus up into the skies for a test flight in the summer.
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The autonomous helicopter will be able to fly completely by itself
In recent years, several aviation companies have shared planes for autonomous aircraft, such as the Skydweller which can fly without a pilot or crew and is powered by solar energy, or this passenger-carrying drone that was unveiled at Abu Dhabi Mobility Week last year.
Now, engineers from UK-based Leonardo are working on the world’s first autonomous, unpiloted helicopter.
Previous unmanned helicopters have been controlled remotely by pilots, but the Proteus experimental helicopter is set to be able to fly all by itself without the need for humans.
“It’s going to operate itself. Nobody is stood there with a remote control round their neck, pressing buttons,” managing director of Leonardo’s Nigel Colman said in an interview with the BBC.
And if conditions, or the mission, suddenly changes, the autonomous aircraft will be well-equipped to handle it.
“It will have all the information it needs to re-route… to avoid threats, to avoid collisions, whatever is necessary.”
The helicopter is set to have its first test flight this summer
Coleman previously worked as a navigator for the Royal Air Force where he ran the UK’s Joint Helicopter Command as Air Vice-Marshal.
He told the BBC that the autonomous helicopter could be tasked with handling military missions, such as dropping sonar buoys into the sea.
He explained that one of the most significant reasons for developing the autonomous helicopter was to eliminate the risk to human life during missions.
The three-tonne (two US ton) uncrewed rotorcraft is on track to take on its first test flight later this year.
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