Reliable Robotics Awarded U.S. Air Force Contract to Advance Aircraft Autonomy

“Our remotely piloted aircraft system unlocks opportunities for all defense agencies in cargo delivery, logistics, surveillance, and other applications where higher tempos and lower costs are vital,” said Dr. David O’Brien, Major General (Ret.), and SVP of Government Solutions at Reliable.

Mountain View, CA - April 25, 2022 - Reliable Robotics, a leader in autonomous aircraft systems, announced today it was awarded an Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) contract to design, develop and test autonomous aircraft capabilities on Air Force platforms. As part of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II contract, Reliable Robotics will demonstrate how its aircraft agnostic design can be quickly adapted for new airframes through simulated and real-world flight tests. The autonomy upgrade will be capable of installation on a wide variety of aircraft.


"Our remotely piloted aircraft system unlocks opportunities for all defense agencies in cargo delivery, logistics, surveillance, and other applications where higher tempos and lower costs are vital," said Dr. David O'Brien, Major General (Ret.), and SVP of Government Solutions at Reliable.

The company has a track record of industry-firsts on the path to Federal Aviation Administration certification of its Remotely Operated Aircraft System. Reliable Robotics made commercial aviation history in 2019 by remotely piloting a Cessna 172 Skyhawk over a populated region without any onboard crew, and in 2021 by remotely operating the Cessna 208 Caravan, a popular cargo aircraft, from a control center over 50 miles away. The same year, the company was named a Collier Trophy finalist for great achievements in aeronautics in the United States.

About Reliable Robotics
Reliable Robotics launched in 2017 to bring certified autonomous vehicles to commercial aviation as soon as possible. The company's automation system enables remote operation of any aircraft type and will expand access to more locations. Reliable's vision is to transform the way we move goods and people around the planet with safer, more convenient and more affordable air transportation. The company is headquartered in Mountain View, CA and has a distributed global workforce. Learn more and see job openings at https://reliable.co

Featured Product

3D Vision: Ensenso B now also available as a mono version!

3D Vision: Ensenso B now also available as a mono version!

This compact 3D camera series combines a very short working distance, a large field of view and a high depth of field - perfect for bin picking applications. With its ability to capture multiple objects over a large area, it can help robots empty containers more efficiently. Now available from IDS Imaging Development Systems. In the color version of the Ensenso B, the stereo system is equipped with two RGB image sensors. This saves additional sensors and reduces installation space and hardware costs. Now, you can also choose your model to be equipped with two 5 MP mono sensors, achieving impressively high spatial precision. With enhanced sharpness and accuracy, you can tackle applications where absolute precision is essential. The great strength of the Ensenso B lies in the very precise detection of objects at close range. It offers a wide field of view and an impressively high depth of field. This means that the area in which an object is in focus is unusually large. At a distance of 30 centimetres between the camera and the object, the Z-accuracy is approx. 0.1 millimetres. The maximum working distance is 2 meters. This 3D camera series complies with protection class IP65/67 and is ideal for use in industrial environments.