{"id":11898,"date":"2018-04-18T03:01:26","date_gmt":"2018-04-18T03:01:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=11898"},"modified":"2018-04-20T03:24:15","modified_gmt":"2018-04-20T03:24:15","slug":"your-next-pilot-could-be-drone-software","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/your-next-pilot-could-be-drone-software\/","title":{"rendered":"Your next pilot could be drone software"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jeremy Straub<\/a>, North Dakota State University<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Would you get on a plane that didn\u2019t have a human pilot in the cockpit? Half of air travelers<\/a> surveyed in 2017 said they would not, even if the ticket was cheaper. Modern pilots do such a good job that almost any air accident is big news, such as the Southwest engine disintegration<\/a> on April 17.<\/p>\n

But stories of pilot drunkenness<\/a>, rants<\/a>, fights<\/a> and distraction<\/a>, however rare, are reminders that pilots are only human. Not every plane can be flown by a disaster-averting pilot, like Southwest Capt. Tammie Jo Shults<\/a> or Capt. Chesley \u201cSully\u201d Sullenberger<\/a>. But software could change that, equipping every plane with an extremely experienced guidance system that is always learning more.<\/p>\n

In fact, on many flights, autopilot systems already control the plane for basically all of the flight<\/a>. And software handles the most harrowing landings<\/a> \u2013 when there is no visibility and the pilot can\u2019t see anything to even know where he or she is. But human pilots are still on hand as backups.<\/p>\n

A new generation of software pilots, developed for self-flying vehicles, or drones, will soon have logged more flying hours than all humans have \u2013 ever. By combining their enormous amounts of flight data and experience, drone-control software applications are poised to quickly become the world\u2019s most experienced pilots.<\/p>\n

Drones that fly themselves<\/h2>\n

Drones come in many forms, from tiny quad-rotor copter toys<\/a> to missile-firing winged planes<\/a>, or even 7-ton aircraft<\/a> that can stay aloft for 34 hours at a stretch. <\/p>\n

When drones were first introduced<\/a>, they were flown remotely<\/a> by human operators. However, this merely substitutes a pilot on the ground for one aloft. And it requires significant communications bandwidth<\/a> between the drone and control center, to carry real-time video from the drone and to transmit the operator\u2019s commands. <\/p>\n

Many newer drones no longer need pilots; some drones for hobbyists and photographers<\/a> can now fly themselves<\/a> along human-defined routes<\/a>, leaving the human free to sightsee \u2013 or control the camera to get the best view.<\/p>\n

University researchers<\/a>, businesses<\/a> and military agencies<\/a> are now testing larger and more capable drones that will operate autonomously. Swarms of drones<\/a> can fly without needing tens or hundreds of humans to control them. And they can perform coordinated maneuvers<\/a> that human controllers could never handle.<\/p>\n

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