TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — Imagine getting into a plane and you don’t see a pilot in the front seat.
That could soon be a reality as an automated flying system is being tested, right now, in Terre Haute.
Mark Skoog spent more than four decades working with agencies like NASA and the FAA. He helped create aviation technology that’s still used to protect fighter pilots today.
“I spent quite a bit of my career developing and bringing forward an automatic ground collision avoidance system to the F-16 fighter”, Skoog said. “That is now fleet-wide implemented, as well as all the F-35s that we have. It is credited with 13 life saves to date in the field.”
Now, Skoog wants to bring that technology to general aviation. He said a database, along with a plane’s autopilot, can help avoid accidents.
“For terrain and obstacles on the ground, we use a digital database because things don’t change that rapidly on the ground, that’s pretty reliable”, Skoog said. “Then we have another component inside, that is an autopilot, that will execute the maneuver. Between that, we have an algorithm that knows how well this aircraft can perform, like how well it can climb or turn, so we predict escape trajectories out in front of it.”
Skoog’s company, Level 5 Autonomy, has been doing some of its work out of Terre Haute Regional Airport, along with the Abel family. Elliot Abel is a trained pilot and owner of multiple planes to use in tests.
“We got involved with Mark and L5 through my older brother, who was a test pilot in the Air Force”, Abel said. “He was a test pilot for Auto GCAS, automatic ground collision avoidance system. Now they are doing it for the civilian side.”
Abel said WTWO’s transmitter towers are the perfect obstacles.
“We want to actually use your tower as an obstacle to verify that the system is functioning properly”, Abel said. “Now we have some buffers built-in, so we are not only legal, but actually safe above your tower, but it’s a great obstacle to present for this technology.”
The group said testing will continue for the next couple of years and they hope to have successful prototypes very soon.
“I have a son that’s just about to get his pilot’s license and you worry about him”, Skoog said. “General aviation is not as safe as driving your car and we’re hoping to change that.”
Skoog added that the group is performing tests for both themselves and Shield AI. He said the funding for the projects has come from Shield AI, the FAA, and Level 5 Autonomy Labs.
