AIDA launch brings AI into autonomous aviation

Southampton-based Windracers said AIDA³  (Centre on AI for Digital, Autonomous and Augmented Aviation) will deliver innovations aimed at realising the full transformational potential of uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) and related technologies. The partnership will also serve as an anchor for R&D and a platform into the US market for Windracers.

Windracers was originally conceived to bring down the cost of delivering humanitarian aid to remote communities in Africa. Its focus on cost reduction has shaped everything from the design of the aircraft and its use of non-specialised parts to the development of its proprietary autopilot system and its approach to manufacturing.

Its ULTRA UAV – a twin-engine fixed-wing aircraft measuring 20 feet by 30 feet – is a multi-purpose ‘Jeep of the skies’ which offers high utilisation and is easy to maintain. The platform’s proprietary Masterless autopilot system allows ULTRA UAV to take off, fly and land safely without the need of a remote pilot. Windracer added that its capabilities span Detect, Drop and Deliver, with applications ranging from the delivery of parcels and humanitarian aid to defence.