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>Rotor is not the only company looking to introduce autonomous flight control systems for helicopters, although it could be the first to have an uncrewed helico

>Rotor is not the only company looking to introduce autonomous flight control systems for helicopters, although it could be the first to have an uncrewed helicopter available for commercial use. I think this has to be wrong about it being the first for commercial use but I am willing to be wrong in my assumption. Several years ago I watched an unmanned helicopter fly past my property less than 200 feet altitude and less than a half mile away. It was flying the route that I knew to be the proposed route for a bypass around my town and there was a small plane like a Cessna circling as it flew along. I know that it was unmanned because there was no windshield or cabin. It looked to be sized like a two-seater. I tried to get a photo but by the time the camera started it had flown far enough that you couldn't make out the fact that there was no cabin or cockpit or windshield. I had the feeling it was mapping the route as it flew. That bypass is now open, right along the path that chopper flew. These guys can be the second but they can't be the first.

13of40 3y ago
Did it look like this by any chance? https://newatlas.com/schiebel-next-generation-uav-camcopter/3865/ https://newatlas.com/schiebel-next-generation-uav-camcopter/...
- doodlebugging 3y ago
  From memory, it was larger. From my vantage point it appeared to be a full size helicopter that could carry a pilot and co-pilot if there had been a cockpit. The shape was similar to the one in this article but from memory the underside was flatter instead of bulbous. I immediately went online once it was out of range and searched for anything about unmanned helicopters, drone helicopters, autonomous helicopter, etc and couldn't find anything that looked exactly like it though I did find a similar body on a Bell helicopter. I assumed it had to be one of theirs since they manufacture them about an hour more or less away from where I live. There is a chance that it was closer in size to the one pictured in your article. If that were true and I had/have missed on my estimates of the range/altitude then the path it flew would have been following a high-voltage powerline path that was put in as they constructed this highway bypass following the same general path across the landscape. There are lots of things that I can be wrong about on any given day and this is certainly one of them. If you work with Schiebel do you know what colors they use one theirs? I just searched again and found several autonomous helicopters available now. I guess the technology moves quickly once you nail down the flight software. I had a sense that the Cessna was tracking the drone helicopter to make sure it had no issues since they flew along above it in gentle loops along the same path as if they were keeping it in sight.
  - antonvs 3y ago
    There could have been a drone pilot in that Cessna.
    - doodlebugging 3y ago
      This is true. I suspect that someone in the plane had the responsibility of insuring that the drone helicopter did not stray from its path or run into problems.
nradov 3y ago
Yamaha has been selling uncrewed helicopters for several years to do agricultural spraying. These are remote piloted, not autonomous. https://www.yamahamotorsports.com/Precision-Agriculture.php https://www.yamahamotorsports.com/Precision-Agriculture.php
- doodlebugging 3y ago
  That's interesting. It isn't like the one I saw though. It is too small and the wrong shape. I see from a current search that there are several players in the drone helicopter business with similar business models - agriculture, infrastructure monitoring/maintenance, military, etc.

13of40 3y ago

Did it look like this by any chance? https://newatlas.com/schiebel-next-generation-uav-camcopter/3865/ https://newatlas.com/schiebel-next-generation-uav-camcopter/...

doodlebugging 3y ago
From memory, it was larger. From my vantage point it appeared to be a full size helicopter that could carry a pilot and co-pilot if there had been a cockpit. The shape was similar to the one in this article but from memory the underside was flatter instead of bulbous. I immediately went online once it was out of range and searched for anything about unmanned helicopters, drone helicopters, autonomous helicopter, etc and couldn't find anything that looked exactly like it though I did find a similar body on a Bell helicopter. I assumed it had to be one of theirs since they manufacture them about an hour more or less away from where I live. There is a chance that it was closer in size to the one pictured in your article. If that were true and I had/have missed on my estimates of the range/altitude then the path it flew would have been following a high-voltage powerline path that was put in as they constructed this highway bypass following the same general path across the landscape. There are lots of things that I can be wrong about on any given day and this is certainly one of them. If you work with Schiebel do you know what colors they use one theirs? I just searched again and found several autonomous helicopters available now. I guess the technology moves quickly once you nail down the flight software. I had a sense that the Cessna was tracking the drone helicopter to make sure it had no issues since they flew along above it in gentle loops along the same path as if they were keeping it in sight.
- antonvs 3y ago
  There could have been a drone pilot in that Cessna.
  - doodlebugging 3y ago
    This is true. I suspect that someone in the plane had the responsibility of insuring that the drone helicopter did not stray from its path or run into problems.

nradov 3y ago

Yamaha has been selling uncrewed helicopters for several years to do agricultural spraying. These are remote piloted, not autonomous. https://www.yamahamotorsports.com/Precision-Agriculture.php https://www.yamahamotorsports.com/Precision-Agriculture.php

doodlebugging 3y ago
That's interesting. It isn't like the one I saw though. It is too small and the wrong shape. I see from a current search that there are several players in the drone helicopter business with similar business models - agriculture, infrastructure monitoring/maintenance, military, etc.