“We want to prepare the warfighter for the digital future that’s upon us,” said Col. Tucker Hamilton, 96th Operations Group commander and Air Force AI test and operations chief. “This event is about bringing the Eglin enterprise together and moving with urgency to incorporate these concepts in how we test.”

The US Army needs smaller drones and heavier-crewed aircraft for its resupply missions. The problem is that this puts aircrews more at risk when they’re entering hostile regions...The heavy-lift vertical takeoff and landing uncrewed aerial system program partnership enables us to broaden our current scope from developing an aerial resupply aircraft for the Marine Corps to creating an autonomous multi-mission aircraft that can autonomously address a wide variety of critical needs.

The US Air Force’s AFWERX has chosen Near Earth Autonomy to collaborate on a reliability standard for autonomous aerial transport as part of the Autonomy Prime program.  This collaboration will see Near Earth and AFWERX establish an accreditation process to formalize assurance for autonomous aircraft.  Near Earth will also develop an architecture that enables high-reliability and supports Modular Open System Architecture (MOSA)-compliant interoperability, ensuring that autonomous aircraft can operate safely and efficiently.

The Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) named Near Earth Autonomy as a Finalist in the Xcellence in Mission—Humanitarian category.  The AUVSI Xcellence Awards honor individuals and organizations that are innovators in the uncrewed systems industry. They must have demonstrated their commitment to advancing autonomy, led and promoted the safe adoption of uncrewed systems, and developed programs that use these technologies to save lives and improve the human condition, said the Arlington, VA based organization.

Near Earth Autonomy is a US-based company that provides hardware and software solutions for autonomous flight and landing. It has deepened its work in the defence market in recent years, perhaps most notably through a partnership with Kaman, with which it is delivering the Kargo uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) for the US Marine Corps (USMC).

“If something goes wrong on board the aircraft, you have to be able to do all of what’s necessary to deal with that kind of case,” in a few minutes or even just a few seconds, says Singh.  He co-founded Point Breeze-based Near Earth Autonomy in 2013 to “push the envelope” for autonomous aerial vehicles. At its core, Near Earth builds the technology for an aircraft to be “aware of its environment” without depending on a pilot. Singh says “this level of extrinsic awareness of the world outside the aircraft is what will give it the extra safety that we expect from aviation.”

The Pittsburgh Technology Council (PTC) celebrates the most successful and innovative technology companies in Southwestern Pennsylvania at its Tech 50 Awards event. “Every year, the list of finalists and winners continues to impress me,” said Audrey Russo, CEO of the PTC. “While Pittsburgh is known for self-driving cars, Near Earth is unique in that it has pioneered autonomy for the next generation of aircraft,” she added. “We are proud of Near Earth for bringing 'Aviation Alley' to the high-tech ecosystem in the Pittsburgh region.”

"We are excited about this opportunity to accelerate the technology development of autonomous systems," Ian Walsh, chairman, president and CEO of Kaman, said. "In an ever-changing and growing autonomy market, we are confident that our joint expertise will result in highly capable, reliable, affordable and maintainable solutions for both military and commercial applications."

“We’re really focused on solving logistics problems in new ways,” Chamberlain said...Sometimes in a firefight, soldiers can’t get a helicopter in safely to help the wounded, said Joe Campbell, Chief Technology Officer at ETI.  Often, wounded soldiers lose their lives because of losing blood. But, the use of drones can help save the lives of wounded soldiers and civilians by delivering needed medical supplies at the request of a medic, he said.

For a technology to be adopted, it has to be desirable, technically feasible, and economically viable.  There is clearly an interest in flying in a straight line from point to point.  Technical feasibility is being proven.  Getting these solutions to be economically viable will take some time.   The early adoption will come in the areas where cost is not the driver.  Generally, we see this happening in applications that involve hazards.

Today’s science fiction is tomorrow’s future, and that future is being built right here in Pittsburgh. We are grateful to be part of such a diverse, skilled and supportive community.  And we’re thrilled to be embarking on a journey to elevate our region, the nation, and the world.

Pittsburgh is a Midwest city that might be known for its steel, but it’s also becoming known as an innovative tech hub.  If you’re looking for a tech job with an innovative Midwest startup, be sure to check out these 16 Pittsburgh startups. All of them are revolutionizing their industries and rapidly growing.