Near Earth Autonomy, Kaman Aerospace partner to develop autonomy system for K-MAX helicopter

August 28, 2020 | AUVSI News

Near Earth Autonomy and Kaman Aerospace, with support from Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), have partnered to develop an intelligent autonomy system for a large-scale transport aircraft capable of lifting a payload of 6,000 pounds called the K-MAX helicopter.

According to the companies, the capability developed will be broadly applicable to large aircraft that can take off and land vertically with a large set of commercial and military applications.

“Our past efforts laid a strong foundation for solving complex autonomy challenges for small, medium, and large vehicles,” says Sanjiv Singh, CEO of Near Earth.

“Thanks to our dedicated team, partners, and sponsors, we are moving from the art of the possible to the art of the practical and in specific, to making autonomous flight safe, efficient, and robust enough for daily operation. This program will serve as an important milestone in making autonomous logistics a reality.”

In 2014, Near Earth and the Office of Naval Research collaborated to develop a package of sensors and software for testing autonomy on a full-scale helicopter in the Autonomous Aerial Cargo/Utility System (AACUS) project.

Under the Joint Capability Technology Demonstration (JCTD) military program, implementation of the technology has continued on small and medium-sized vehicles. Near Earth says that its continued work on large-sized transport aircraft builds on past expertise, and demonstrates that one architecture can work well across a wide range of different aircraft types and sizes.  

The aircraft can sense its environment using sensors and computing onboard, which allows it to make real-time flight decisions such as deciding to fly around objects in the flight path and selecting clear places to land or to drop off cargo. Applications for safe autonomous aerial logistics include efficiently moving military supplies, patients, and Warfighters. Autonomous large-scale heavy transport also enables commercial applications for delivery and urban air mobility. 

Photo below: With support from Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), Near Earth Autonomy and Kaman Aerospace have partnered to develop an intelligent autonomy system for the K-MAX helicopter, a large-scale transport aircraft capable of lifting a payload of  6,000 pounds. Photo courtesy of ​Near Earth Autonomy