Aurora’s eVTOL prototype is a version of the US company’s self-flying air taxis.
Aurora Flight Sciences
In parallel with the trend towards self-driving vehicles on the road, autonomous air transport mobility concepts are growing in importance. US aviation group Boeing intends to acquire autonomous aerospace developer Aurora Flight Sciences. This acquisition should accelerate the development of robotic aircraft technology according to a press release from Aurora.
Machine learning in systems
Aurora reports that it deploys systems that include machine learning and advanced flight control systems, and it has already developed 30 unmanned aircraft since 1989. Aurora has been collaborating with Boeing on developing aircraft and sub-assemblies for military and commercial applications for some years.
This strategic takeover is one of several publicity-grabbing events in the field of autonomous aircraft development in recent months. Based in Bruchsal, Germany, Volocopter attracted publicity with an autonomous flight of the “Volocopter 2X” in Dubai in late September 2017. The company is jointly testing autonomous air taxis with the Emirate of Dubai.