SkyRyse Wants to Create Self Flying Helicopters

AlphaAtlas

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While tech companies like Google and Uber are developing their own flying taxis, SkyRyse is tackling the problem from the other end. Instead of creating self-flying vehicles from the ground up, the California based startup is attempting to add self-flying technology to existing helicopter airframes. CEO Mark Groden says that this approach puts SkyRyse years ahead of their competitors, as they're already flying aircraft with the technology on board. Groden says the company's mission is to "make air transportation accessible and safe for everyone as a new mode of transportation."

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"Public perception needs to be there so people need to be comfortable having aircraft flying over their heads and being inside of them," he said. "Then there's a regulatory aspect. So the FAA and other regulatory bodies don't yet have the regulations needed to even consider autonomous flight."
 
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Only auto pilot I'll trust!
 
What could go wrong? Since self-drive cars have been perfected with a 100% safety record it is natural that they would transition to aircraft.
 
Yea sure, lets give the robots air superiority, I'm sure that won't come back to haunt us at all....
 
So they pull the guts out of a drone that can self fly and throw it into a single rotor helicopter, what could possibly go wrong?

I mean you have money enough to fly in a helicopter, why spend any more to pay a professional to fly one when a derp computer can do it for you!
 
It will take the FAA a long time to come up with regulations for this. They are not a fast moving agency. Herding cats is easy compared to getting all the pieces of the FAA moving in the same direction and agreeing to anything.
 
It takes a lot more hours to get your helicopter license than an equivalent single engine non-IFR pilots license for a reason.
 
Maybe from another company, like Northrop Grumman, but not this kid.


It takes a lot more hours to get your helicopter license than an equivalent single engine non-IFR pilots license for a reason.

Not really. Both require 40 hours of training prior to taking the practical for either Private ASEL or Rotorcraft.

Industry averages are the same with most private pilots taking 60-70 hours.

That is assuming you are doing it all at a part 61 (14 CFR Part 61) school and not a part 141 school.
 
What could go wrong? Since self-drive cars have been perfected with a 100% safety record it is natural that they would transition to aircraft.
All the things that make self-driving cars difficult largely don't apply to aircraft. No having to maintain close formations with actively-hostile drivers; no dodging pedestrians; no poorly-maintained roads.

Not to say there are no challenges to deal with. Communication is probably the big one, and will likely require major ATC infrastructure overhaul. Also, there are certain classes of low-altitude obstacle identification which are going to be challenging -- powerlines, for example. But that's no reason not to get the ball rolling.
So they pull the guts out of a drone that can self fly and throw it into a single rotor helicopter, what could possibly go wrong?

I mean you have money enough to fly in a helicopter, why spend any more to pay a professional to fly one when a derp computer can do it for you!
80% of aircraft accidents are caused by human error. (The rest by aircraft failure.)
I've developed some self flying ICBMs. Don't worry, they're programmed to never do anyone any harm.
So has SpaceX. And ULA. And Arianespace. That's pretty much the definition of a commercial rocket.
It takes a lot more hours to get your helicopter license than an equivalent single engine non-IFR pilots license for a reason.
Helicopters are somewhat less intuitive to fly, and need more active piloting.

But computers have no intuition. And their attention doesn't wander. Once you've got a flight model coded up, it'll follow it to the limits of its precision, adjusting hundreds or thousands of times a second.
 
What could go wrong? Since self-drive cars have been perfected with a 100% safety record it is natural that they would transition to aircraft.
we have had civilian airplanes that can land themselves since the 1960's let alone fly. Not hard to see it translate to helicopters, especially when you take into account how much is already automated or computer-assisted.
 
we have had civilian airplanes that can land themselves since the 1960's let alone fly. Not hard to see it translate to helicopters, especially when you take into account how much is already automated or computer-assisted.

Automated Landing is not allowed by FFA regs in civilian airspace because it isn't reliable enough especially during cross and vertical sheer conditions. Plus altimeters need occasional calibration. They can easily be off by a dozen feet which only a trained eye can judge. GPS can also be off as much as 100 yards. (That's a football field) VORTACs can also fail or be shut down for maintenance.
 
yet every one here goes nuts when there is a story about self flying multi rotor "aircraft" at lest a single rotor heli has range
 
All the things that make self-driving cars difficult largely don't apply to aircraft. No having to maintain close formations with actively-hostile drivers

The guy is not talking about a few machines here and there. He envisions taxi service "close to and from your destination" i.e. rooftops. Add his choppers to the ones proposed by Uber and Velocopter and the skies start to look like the Jetsons.
 
While this is a much better idea that the fools trying to do it electrically, it doesn't change the fact that a helicopter is expensive as fuck to keep in the air, and none of that cost is attributed to having a pilot on board. Unless people are willing to adopt $300 cab rides across town, I don't think we'll have much to worry about
 
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What could go wrong? Since self-drive cars have been perfected with a 100% safety record it is natural that they would transition to aircraft.

True...and the chances of death is much higher in the sky.

On the positive side there is way less traffic in the sky, and getting a pilots license is alot harder than a drivers license. They seem to give those to just about anybody these days.

Way more morons on the street.
 
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