Joby Aviation is testing an autonomous Cessna Caravan with the United States Air Force, part of “a successful demonstration and validation of its SuperpilotTM autonomous flight technology.” The 208 Caravan logged more than 7,000 miles and 40 flight hours over the Pacific Ocean and Hawaii. A similar Cessna 208 Caravan has been flying similar missions for Reliable Robotics. And yet a third Caraban is flying for Merlin Labs on the U. S. East Coast and in New Zealand. The three companies have chosen to test their autonomous systems on Caravans because of the craft’s reliability and availability worldwide. Over 3,000 Caravans worldwide and their Pratt & Whitney PT-6 turboprop engines contribute to their ongoing popularity. Joby and Its Superpilot According to a company press release, Joby’s autonomous control system, Superpilot, was integrated into a Cessna Caravan 208, and tasked with a variety of missions, including: Mission Readiness: Superpilot demonstrated the capability to execute rapid cargo deliveries, hub-and-spoke logistics, inter-island transport, dynamic retasking, …
