Reliable Robotics expands team as it prepares to certify autonomous flight technology
Founded in 2017, Reliable Robotics has raised $100 million in funding. As a result, the California-based developer of autonomous flight technology has raised more than $133 million in total. Since the company moved away from stealth mode in 2020, it has grown significantly, more than doubling in size and bringing together a diverse group of engineers with experience in aviation, autonomy and other safety-critical fields.
The company said the funding will help expand its team as Reliable prepares to certify and commercialize its remotely operated aviation system. The developer claims the technology will make cargo transport safer, more convenient and more affordable and, ultimately, passenger transport as well. Reliable has already demonstrated reliable operation of a fully automated Part 23 aircraft.
The company is currently working to commercialize its technology for Part 23 cargo and passenger aircraft. Its technology handles every stage of flight, including flight control, takeoff, landing and taxiing. Licensed pilots remotely monitor each flight from a control center. The system can automatically land on small airstrips in rural or remote areas without requiring the installation and maintenance of costly infrastructure.
The business case is simple: pilots are the most expensive part of cargo operations, which face the same constraints as trucking, and the vast majority of freight work is dull and repetitive, where drivers (or in this case pilots) are the most frequent source of failure. In the air, replacing qualified pilots with autonomous systems that can be overseen from the ground means costs fall and aircraft utilization rises sharply.
Reliable Robotics has received key approvals from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to fly experimental unmanned aircraft. In 2019, it completed a fully autonomous flight of a Cessna 172 Skyhawk with no pilot on board. In 2020, the company made an autonomous flight between two airports 322 km apart, but this time with an engineer and a pilot on board for safety.
Reliable has a partnership with NASA under the National Advanced Air Mobility Campaign to conduct further real-world flight tests of its system.
“We value our public-private partnership with the FAA and NASA as we work to integrate our remotely operated aviation system into the airspace. We intend to deliver unprecedented safety and reliability for today's commercial aircraft. Close collaboration with our government agencies, strong support from forward-looking investors and significant interest from the cargo industry further accelerate our mission to expand universal access to air transport”
Reliable said its technology will help open access to thousands of underused regional and municipal airports across the US. The company plans to extend its technology to larger aircraft, support new electric and hybrid-electric platforms and, eventually, passenger planes. The planned expansion of the company's aircraft program to additional, larger aircraft further demonstrates the versatility of its system.
“Automated aircraft present a huge opportunity to transform the cargo industry over the next few years. Remotely piloted cargo delivery offers a major advantage through low flight costs at any time and in any place, which increases aircraft utilization and availability”
Jeff Dreis recently joined Reliable Robotics to build a subsidiary airline providing cargo services while preparing to deploy and scale remotely operated aircraft.
The latest investment was led by Coatue Management, joining previous investors Lightspeed Venture Partners, Eclipse Ventures, Teamworthy Ventures and Pathbreaker Ventures.
“We believe Reliable Robotics is a leader in aircraft automation for commercial aviation. We were impressed by the team's clear vision, measurable progress toward certification and track record of industry achievements. We are proud to support Reliable's goal of being the first to bring FAA-certified remotely piloted systems to market”
Of course, people are somewhat nervous about the safety of driverless cars, and aircraft amplify that feeling many times over and add further fears. The Federal Aviation Administration is closely monitoring Reliable and other commercial operators in this space, but the agency has already granted a number of approvals for experimental unmanned aircraft.
