[Charles-P]

Unmanned technology is often portrayed as potentially replacing the pilot. But a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) program is showing how autonomy could be used to reduce workload and improve safety in existing aircraft, while at the same time building trust in automation to pave the way toward reduced crew sizes on certain missions. Aurora Flight Sciences and Sikorsky conducted demonstrations in October concluding Phase 2 of the Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System (ALIAS) program that DARPA has been operating. ALIAS envisions a tailorable, drop-in, removable kit that would promote the addition of high levels of automation into existing aircraft, enabling operation with reduced onboard crew. The program intends to leverage the considerable advances made in aircraft automation systems over the past 50 years, as well as similar advances in remotely piloted aircraft automation, to help reduce pilot workload, augment mission performance and improve aircraft safety.

As an automation system, ALIAS aims to support execution of an entire mission from takeoff to landing, even in the face of contingency events such as aircraft system failures. ALIAS system attributes, such as persistent-state monitoring and rapid recall of flight procedures, would further enhance flight safety. Easy-to-use touch and voice interfaces would facilitate supervisor-ALIAS interaction. ALIAS would also provide a platform for integrating additional automation or autonomy capabilities tailored for specific missions.
In time (7-10 years) DARPA believes fully autonomous passenger aircraft will be viable.

[LuganoPirate]

I think this would be a great step forward and perhaps help avoid situations where a pilot deliberately crashes an aircraft, someone or perhaps the computer would step in and take over.

However I would feel very uncomfortable if there were no pilots onboard. Sometimes computers go wrong and I’d like a human hand to guide the plane down!

[Author]

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