Joby Aviation flies autonomous aircraft across the US

Joby Aviation has completed what it calls the first autonomous flight across the United States. According to Engadget, the startup equipped an aircraft with its autonomous flight software to make the 3,199-mile journey without any human control input.

The cross-country trip began at Buchanan Field Airport in California and concluded at Dare County Regional Airport in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The company integrated its autonomy technology into a converted Cessna Caravan for the test.

The modified aircraft handled every phase of the journey independently. This included taxiing, takeoff, cruising, and landing without help from an onboard safety pilot.

Supervised Flight and Future Stops

Although the plane flew without manual steering, a human monitor remained on board during the trip. Furthermore, Joby teams remotely supervised the flight from the company headquarters in California and from Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina.

With the eastbound trip finished, the aircraft is scheduled to fly back toward the west. The return trip will include planned stops in cities such as Raleigh, Salt Lake City, and Portland.

Beyond Electric Air Taxis

Joby is primarily recognized for developing fully electric, piloted air taxis for urban travel. The firm started demonstrating those air taxis in New York City in April and aims to launch them publicly later this year.

However, this latest milestone points toward broader applications for the startup. The firm noted that its autonomous system can be installed in existing aircraft types.

This capability could open up new business areas for the company. Potential use cases mentioned include commercial freight transport, emergency response missions, and defense logistics operations.