ROBOpilot takes the controls Courtesy AFRL

A robot pilot is learning to fly. It has passed its pilot’s test and flown its first plane, but it has also had its first mishap too.

Unlike a traditional autopilot, the ROBOpilot Unmanned Aircraft Conversion System literally takes the controls, pressing on foot pedals and handling the yoke using robotic arms. It reads the dials and meters with a computer vision system.

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The robot can take off, follow a flight plan and land without human intervention. ROBOpilot is a drop-in system meaning that the pilot’s seat is removed and replaced with the robot.


ROBOpilot has passed the Federal Aviation Administration’s Practical Test for piloting light aircraft and carried out its first flight on August 9 in Utah. A few weeks later it also had its first incident where the robot was damaged, although the extent of the damage is not known.

A plane with ROBOpilot installed preparing for take off Courtesy AFRL

The system was developed by US-based DZYNE Technologies as an easy way to make any aircraft autonomous. At present, turning an aircraft into a drone can be lengthy and expensive.

A recent conversion of US military F-16 fighter jets into drones cost more than a million dollars each. ROBOpilot can be inserted into any aircraft and just as easily removed afterwards to return it to human-controlled operation.

Previous robot pilots have included Pibot developed in South Korea and ALIAS by the US Department of Defense. However, neither of these have flown a full-size plane on its own like ROBOpilot.

“It looks like an impressive achievement in terms of robotics,” says Louise Dennis at the University of Liverpool. “Unlike an autopilot which has direct access to the controls and sensors, the robot is in the place of a human pilot and has to physically work the controls and reads the dials.”

The makers suggest that ROBOpilot will be useful for tasks including transporting cargo, “entry into hazardous environments”, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions.

Dennis says there are challenges ahead in assuring safety before robot pilots can carry human passengers.