Story ID: 
Airbus Fitting Helicopter Flightlab With Autonomous Capability
By: Mark Huber
Caption: Airbus plans complete demonstration of autonomous helicopter Flightlab in 2023.
Word Count: 202
Airbus is introducing autonomous features to its H130 helicopter Flightlab that are aimed at simplifying mission preparation and management, reducing helicopter pilot workload, and increasing safety.

The collection of technologies the company is calling “Vertex” includes vision-based sensors and algorithms for situational awareness and obstacle detection; fly-by-wire for enhanced auto-pilot; and an advanced human-machine interface via touchscreen and head-worn display for inflight monitoring and control. Collectively, the technologies will enable a system that can manage navigation and route preparation and automatic takeoff and landing, as well as following a predefined flight path.

Airbus is already integrating these technologies into its helicopter Flightlab and plans a complete demonstration in 2023. The company noted that the technologies are an “essential stepping stone towards autonomous flight” with applications for urban air mobility. Vertex is managed by Airbus UpNext, a subsidiary created to fast-track new technologies by building demonstrators at speed and scale.  

“By using our platform-agnostic flying laboratory to mature these technologies, we have an agile and efficient testbed that will support the development of future autonomous systems that could later equip Airbus’s current helicopter range and (e)VTOL platforms,” said Grazia Vittadini, Airbus chief technology officer.