To avoid being overtaken by start-ups disrupting aviation,
Boeing has recently made a series of strategic acquisitions. The latest of
these, announced Thursday, is the American company Aurora Flight Sciences, which develops technologies intended to
accelerate the advent of autonomous planes.
Aurora, who previously worked with Boeing on commercial and
military aircraft prototypes, should allow the aircraft manufacturer to achieve
its ambitions to bring to market autonomous planes and drones.
While most modern aircraft already have a multitude of
computers and automated systems that dramatically reduce the workload of pilots,
Aurora goes further and develops automatic systems that aim to fully automatize
flight, from take-off to landing.
The objective is to develop a robot capable, with the help
of artificial intelligence, to second or even replace the pilot. He could thus
perform various maneuvers such as pressing the pedals, take control in
emergency situations, land the plane or avoid a crash in the event of damage or
failure.
Aurora is also expected to allow Boeing to venture into the
field of flying taxis and catch up with rival Airbus. The latter has been
working for some time with Uber, which promised a fleet of flying vehicles
flying vertically by 2026.
We can say that the aviation industry is changing. Will the
supply chain industry see fully autonomous cargo flights in the next decade? Or
will it rather be flying taxis or drones for home deliveries? Both scenarios
are very likely, in my opinion. Reality will
soon exceed science fiction.
What do you
think?
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