Your Plastic Pal Who's Fun to Be With!
(c) D.A.
Good news. DARPA’s ambitious project to recreate Otto, the autopilot from Airplane, is finally bearing fruit. ALIAS, The Aircrew Labor In-cockpit Automation System program, was announced in 2014. Autopilots are almost as old as the aeroplane – with Sperry demonstrating automatic flight control in 1912. But unlike its …
Any word on how ALIAS* handles flying on instruments?
* Somewhere in the DARPA charter must be a "no acronym - no funding" clause.
"The human pilot would be continuously informed through an intuitive interface of which actions the automation is executing, and take back control if so desired.“
Scene from the cockpit after ten hours in flight:
"I'm turning left to 225 degrees."
"I'm turning right to 227 degrees."
"I'm turning left to 225 degrees."
"I detect the cockpit door is unsealed."
"I'm falling into the sea..."
I thought I already had a robotic co-pilot. It's called an "autopilot." Linked to the FMS it'll fly the whole damn route from wheels up to touchdown (if appropriately rated).
I've been keeping an eye out for an "Otto" for my plane- I'd love to have him sitting in it when it's in the hangar.