Urban Aero shows off its first fully autonomous flying taxi

By Matthew Griffin Robo Revolution 16th November 2016

WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF

Companies are increasingly scaling up drone technology and their associated energy and control systems in the new race to take passengers to the skies and back, but the Cormorant is the first to demonstrate full autonomy.

Nine years ago the AirMule was simply a concept – a Vertical Take Off and Landing (VTOL) robo-taxi that could get soldiers out of dangerous battlefields without endangering a pilot or crew. Now, nine years later the AirMule, now called the Cormorant has just completed its first fully autonomous flight – a short, wobbly hop from the side of a parking lot to a space a modest distance away.

According to Urban Aeronautics, the vehicle’s Flight Control System made the decision to land too early which is why the drone wobbled at the end of the flight. Decisions by the flight controls are checked by the craft’s flight management system, like a pilot overseen by a captain. These decisions are all informed by an array of sensors which include two laser altimeters, a radar altimeter, inertial sensors, and an electro-optic payload camera. Lots of other unmanned aircraft use some combination of these sensors, but few have the unique design of the Cormorant, which puts the rotors inside the craft in order to protect the people it’s picking up at the time. And that compact, unique design is tricky to get right.

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But if Urban Aeronautics can figure it out, the result will be a robot that can fly inside cities, weaving between buildings and hovering above any dangers on the ground below, not unlike some of the concepts that Uber are working on with the likes of Airbus and Joby.

Matthew Griffin / About Author

Described by NASA as a "Walking Encyclopaedia of the Future" and one of the world’s most in demand keynote speakers Matthew Griffin, Founder and Futurist in Chief of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm, is a multi-award winning Futurist and strategic foresight expert, author, lecturer, mentor, podcast and YouTube host.

With a distinguished career running global business units at Atos, EMC, and IBM today Matthew helps leaders and titans of industry from all over the world explore the impact of the inter sections of technology, culture, and leadership, then helps them create high performance organisations that can continuously disrupt, outpace, and outthink their competition.

15 times author of the hit series the Codex of the Future series Matthew's ability to identify, track, and explain the impacts of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends on global business, culture, and society has earned him a powerful reputation and a roster of clients that include royal households, world leaders across the G7, G20, and G77, and many of the world's most recognised and exceptional organisations including ABB, Accenture, ABN Amro, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi Group, Coca Cola, Deloitte, Dentons, Disney, Dow, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Microsoft, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Nokia, Paramount, PepsiCo, PWC, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, T-Mobile, UBS, Visa, WIRED, WPP and hundreds of others.

Matthew is regularly featured in the global media including the AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, Forbes, Khaleej Times, Telegraph, TIME, ViacomCBS, WIRED, and the WSJ, and his mission is to help organisations create a fair and sustainable future whose benefits are shared by everyone irrespective of their ability, background, or circumstances.