Lockheed Martin Flies Autonomous Black Hawk Pilotless for the First Time
Lockheed Martin Flies Autonomous Black Hawk Pilotless for the First Time
4:38

Lockheed Martin Flies Autonomous Black Hawk Pilotless for the First Time

Aircraft
Speaker 1: Your eyes are not playing tricks on you. There's no pilot inside this helicopter. It's 20, 22. Let's face it. We're used to seeing all types of vehicles operate themselves from cars to boats, drones, even motorcycles. [00:00:30] But some people might say there's something a little ominous about seeing a military grade helicopter flying without a pilot. This is part of a project from Lockheed Martin subsidiary se course and DARPA. Now, if you're not familiar with DARPA, it's a research and development agency for the us department of defense. And according to DARPA, this marked the first time a Blackhawk helicopter flew without anyone on board. [00:01:00] It took a off flew for 30 minutes over a us army base in Kentucky before safely landing on its own. So what made this possible? It's called alias an acronym for air crew labor and cockpit automation system. And to find out how it works. I caught up with Sekis director of innovations, Igor chair. Penski Speaker 2: The way you, you sort of program this machine. Isn't by putting in way points like [00:01:30] you would've drone. This isn't fly here, here, here, and there you are actually explaining mission. There's a, a language that developed where you're telling the aircraft, Hey, I have a cargo mission and there's a set of cargo over here and it's this kind of car going. It needs to end up a were there. And this is when I needed. And then the aircraft goes out, figures out what the flight rules are, what the winds are and shows you a plan to say, Hey, here's how I would do this. And you, again, as a human being, have the final authority to modify it, but machines doing a lot, a lot of that, you know, intermediate [00:02:00] thinking source thing for you. This is an inherent with what's known as a fly by wire system where mechanical controls were completely removed from the aircraft. So even in pilot mode, the pilots are flying the same computer fuel. That's flying the aircraft when no one's on board. And that makes this aircraft easy to fly. You know, I could teach you to fly this aircraft in 15 minutes. Speaker 1: Now, Igor was very clear when I talked to him, this isn't any sort of artificial intelligence. [00:02:30] The system relies on cameras, sensors, and algorithms to identify and then avoid obstacles. And this wasn't the first time we've seen alias in action. DARPA demonstrated it last year in a supervised test with a safety pilot on board, Speaker 3: Engaging autonomous on start autonomous take off. Speaker 1: [00:03:00] So I had to ask a question that a lot of you are probably thinking if helicopters can fly their own missions. Now, are we on a path to making pilots obsolete? Well, Igor pointed out a lot of what pilots do is more than just flying Speaker 2: Medevac pilots, right? They aren't just there to fly a helicopter. They're the figure out how to get into, let's say a crash scene and pick up a casualty and that's creativity, right? That's understanding the, the context of what they're seeing, being able to understand, you know, level of emergency and other things [00:03:30] in that mission context flying the actual machine should be, uh, only, let's say 10, 20% of what they do. Uh, what have happens in reality, that percentage goes up as environment gets worse, right? Rain, snow bed, whatever really complex, you know, traffic scenes trying to do is augment the pilot to the point where flying the aircraft is really only 10% of what they do. And 90% they're focused on the mission. Speaker 1: Now egres says they've got more testing plan for this year and are looking at alias [00:04:00] to other aircraft. One of the places they see opportunities is firefighting specifically at night when flying can be more difficult. And yes, Seki is talking to the us military to explore ways they can fit this tech onto military aircraft. But what do you think, where do you think this technology can fit onto other vehicles? Let me in those comments below as always, thank you so much for watching. If you enjoyed this video, don't forget to give it a thumbs up and subscribe to CNET for more like it. I'm Andy Altman, and I will see you [00:04:30] in the future.

Up Next

Nvidia's Project GR00T vs. Tesla Optimus: Competing Robot Strategies
240321-site-nvidia-project-groot-vs-tesla-optimus-v1

Up Next

Nvidia's Project GR00T vs. Tesla Optimus: Competing Robot Strategies

Las Vegas Sphere: Everything You Need to Know
exosphere

Las Vegas Sphere: Everything You Need to Know

Future-Tech Trends to Watch in 2024
more-quantum

Future-Tech Trends to Watch in 2024

Creating the World's Most Efficient Solar Electric Car
cruiser-class

Creating the World's Most Efficient Solar Electric Car

40 Miles an Hour in an Electric Speedboat: Test-Driving the Arc One
arc-one-cms-thumb

40 Miles an Hour in an Electric Speedboat: Test-Driving the Arc One

How Mark Rober's Rivalry with Mr. Beast Led to a Nerf Gun Made of DNA
dna-nerf-gun

How Mark Rober's Rivalry with Mr. Beast Led to a Nerf Gun Made of DNA

Brain-Computer Interface: No Open Brain Surgery Required
demo3

Brain-Computer Interface: No Open Brain Surgery Required

Electronic Nose 'Smells' Wildfires for Ultra-Early Detection
cms-thumb

Electronic Nose 'Smells' Wildfires for Ultra-Early Detection

First Look at the Tech Inside the $2.3B MSG Sphere
msg-sphere

First Look at the Tech Inside the $2.3B MSG Sphere

Turning Wave Power Into Electricity, Hydrogen Fuel and Fresh Water
swel-2

Turning Wave Power Into Electricity, Hydrogen Fuel and Fresh Water

Tech Shows

The Apple Core
apple-core-w

The Apple Core

Alphabet City
alphabet-city-w

Alphabet City

CNET Top 5
cnet-top-5-w

CNET Top 5

The Daily Charge
dc-site-1color-logo.png

The Daily Charge

What the Future
what-the-future-w

What the Future

Tech Today
tech-today-w

Tech Today

Latest News All latest news

Apple to Talk AI in June: This WWDC Is a Big Deal
240328-yt-omt-wwdc24-v07

Apple to Talk AI in June: This WWDC Is a Big Deal

New Xbox Leaked
240328-yt-xbox-leaked-image-v01

New Xbox Leaked

Hands-On with Ford's Free Tesla Charging Adapter
pic3

Hands-On with Ford's Free Tesla Charging Adapter

Apple and Meta Are Competing for Your Memories
screenshot-2024-03-22-at-17-41-16.png

Apple and Meta Are Competing for Your Memories

Nvidia's Project GR00T vs. Tesla Optimus: Competing Robot Strategies
240321-site-nvidia-project-groot-vs-tesla-optimus-v1

Nvidia's Project GR00T vs. Tesla Optimus: Competing Robot Strategies

What Google Gemini AI on the iPhone Could Look Like
240321-site-apple-and-gemini-ai

What Google Gemini AI on the iPhone Could Look Like

Most Popular All most popular

First Look at TSA's Self-Screening Tech (in VR!)
innovation

First Look at TSA's Self-Screening Tech (in VR!)

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Review: More AI at a Higher Cost
240123-site-samsung-galaxy-s24-ultra-review-4

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Review: More AI at a Higher Cost

'Circle to Search' Lets Users Google From Any Screen
circlesearchpic

'Circle to Search' Lets Users Google From Any Screen

Asus Put Two 14-inch OLEDs in a Laptop, Unleashes First OLED ROG Gaming Laptop
asus-preces-00-00-25-11-still003

Asus Put Two 14-inch OLEDs in a Laptop, Unleashes First OLED ROG Gaming Laptop

Samsung Galaxy Ring: First Impressions
samsung-galaxy-ring-clean

Samsung Galaxy Ring: First Impressions

Best of Show: The Coolest Gadgets of CES 2024
240111-site-best-of-ces-2024-1

Best of Show: The Coolest Gadgets of CES 2024

Latest Products All latest products

Hands-On with Ford's Free Tesla Charging Adapter
pic3

Hands-On with Ford's Free Tesla Charging Adapter

Nuro R3 is an Adorable Self-Driving Snack Bar
240320-site-nuro-r3-first-look-v1

Nuro R3 is an Adorable Self-Driving Snack Bar

First Look: The $349 Nothing Phone 2A Aims to Brighten Your Day
240304-site-nothing-phone-2-first-look-v3

First Look: The $349 Nothing Phone 2A Aims to Brighten Your Day

Best of MWC 2024: Bendable Screens, AI Wearables and More
240229-site-best-of-show-at-mwc

Best of MWC 2024: Bendable Screens, AI Wearables and More

This Concept Laptop from Lenovo Has a Transparent Display
240225-site-lenovo-translucent-laptop-concept-v3

This Concept Laptop from Lenovo Has a Transparent Display

Motorola's Rollable Concept Phone Wraps on Your Wrist
240225-site-motorola-rollable-concept

Motorola's Rollable Concept Phone Wraps on Your Wrist

Latest How To All how to videos

Windows 11 Tips and Hidden Features
240311-site-windows-11-hidden-tips-and-tricks-v2

Windows 11 Tips and Hidden Features

Vision Pro App Walkthrough -- VisionOS 1.0.3
VisionOS 1.0.3

Vision Pro App Walkthrough -- VisionOS 1.0.3

Tips and Tricks for the Galaxy S24 Ultra
240216-site-galaxy-s24-ultra-tips-and-hidden-features-2

Tips and Tricks for the Galaxy S24 Ultra

TikTok Is Now on the Apple Vision Pro
tiktok-on-vision-pro-clean

TikTok Is Now on the Apple Vision Pro

Get Your TV Ready for the Big Game: Super Bowl Setup Tips
superbowl-tv-settings-thumb1

Get Your TV Ready for the Big Game: Super Bowl Setup Tips

How to Use a Quest 3 Like the Vision Pro
240202-site-spatial-computing-on-meta-quest-3

How to Use a Quest 3 Like the Vision Pro