Reliable Robotics, a Silicon Valley startup that develops automated flight systems, announced on February 12, 2024, that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has approved the definition of requirements necessary for its navigation and autopilot systems to be certified
The system being developed by Reliable Robotics is designed to provide continuous autopilot engagement throughout all phases of flight and aims to make it possible to fully automate the taxiing, takeoff and landing phases. It also aims to drastically reduce any instances of controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) and loss of control in flight (LOC-I), which are two of the main causes of flight accidents.
In December 2023, Reliable Robotics completed its first fully automated Cessna 208 Caravan flight, which was remotely supervised from a ground control station located 50 miles away.
So far, Reliable Robotics has raised $137 million in three funding rounds and has also participated in the United States military AFWERX program, which evaluates innovative aerospace technologies for potential defense uses. On January 30, 2024, Reliable Robotics received a military airworthiness approval to begin flight tests for the US Air Force (USAF).
Speaking with AeroTime, Reliable Robotics co-founder Robert Rose confirmed that Reliable Robotics was also looking at the possibility of testing its technology on other types of aircraft in the future, such as the KC-135 Stratocruiser tanker.