Aibot aiEVTOL Drone (concept design)
aiEVTOL (concept design)
Aibot US Inc.
Long Beach, California, USA
www.aibot.ai
Aibot was founded in May 2022 in Long Beach, California, USA. The company emerged from stealth mode in November 2023 and is in the business of designing and manufacturing artificial intelligent (AI) autonomous piloted long-range highly-automated hyper-performance passenger and cargo electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for advanced air mobility (AAM). The company received a $15 million USD grant from the California Competes Grant Program in 2023. As of 2024, the company has more than 60 employees.
aiEVTOL Drone eVTOL air cargo concept design drone
The aiEVTOL Drone is a fully autonomous artificial intelligent (AI) piloted long-range eVTOL air cargo concept design aircraft. The drone has been designed to be flexible in terms of accomplishing multiple mission applications, from all types of air cargo service, to agricultural crop monitoring missions, to medical service air cargo missions, to forest preservation, highway patrol surveillance, ship-to-shore logistics, large scale infrastructure inspections and more. It should be noted that all specifications stated could change over time based upon the final design of the production aircraft.
The maximum cruise speed of the drone is anticipated at 180 mph (290 km/h) and has a planned range of 60 m (97 km). The range of the drone will vary depending upon the speed of the aircraft and the payload weight it is carrying. The maximum payload weight of the drone is intended to be 150 lb (68 kg) with a maximum predicted takeoff weight of 700 lb (318 kg). It is unknown how many propellers and electric motors will be on the aircraft. The drone is fully electric and is powered by battery packs. The main wing will be 17 feet (5.18 m) in length. The drone's fuselage expected to be made from carbon fiber composite for a high strength and low weight ratio. The company has stated the multi-purpose drone will share a similar fuselage configuration as the company's seven place aiEVTOL aircraft.
Prototypes
The company has already built and flown five subscale technology demonstrators with over 500 hours of flight time. In 2023, the company started its next-generation 500 pound aircraft and took it through to its first hover. The company went from a clean sheet design, to a complete aerospace product and then to a first hover in just nine months.
Future
In 2024, the company plans to expand its team from 60 members to nearly 200 people and intends to pursue a public offering when it achieves significant milestones and operational success. Aibot also proposes to reveal its first full-scale prototype with an inaugural flight aimed for 2025. The company aims to bring a remotely piloted heavy-lift air cargo eVTOL drone to market by the end of 2024, with their single-pilot, six-passenger eVTOL air taxi aircraft to follow in 2028.
Specifications:
- Aircraft type: Autonomous eVTOL air cargo concept design drone
- Piloting: fully autonomous artificial intelligent (AI) piloted
- Capacity: Air cargo and surveillance equipment
- Maximum cruise speed: 180 mph (290 km/h)
- Range: 60 m (97 km) (the range will vary with speed and payload weight)
- Maximum payload weight: 150 lb (68 kg)
- Maximum takeoff weight: 700 lb (318 kg)
- Propellers: Unknown
- Electric motors: Unknown
- Power source: Battery packs
- Fuselage: Carbon fiber composite
- Wings: 1 wing, 17 ft (5.18 m)
- Landing gear: Unknown
- Safety features: Distributed Electric Propulsion (DEP) means having multiple propellers (or electric ducted fans) and multiple electric motors on an aircraft so if one or more propellers (or electric ducted fans) or some electric motors fail, the other working propellers (or electric ducted fans) and electric motors can safely land the aircraft. DEP provides safety through redundancy for its passengers or cargo. There are also redundancies of critical components in the sub-systems of the aircraft providing safety through redundancy for its passengers or cargo. Having multiple redundant systems on any aircraft decreases having any single point of failure. There is also a whole aircraft emergency ballistic parachute in case of an unexpected inflight emergency.
Related Aircraft:
- Aibot US Inc. aiEVTOL (concept design)
Company Insights:
Resources:
- Aibot website
- Aibot Facebook
- Aibot Twitter
- Aibot Instagram
- Aibot LinkedIn
- Article: AIBOT to Integrate Honeywell’s cBFW System into eVTOL Aircraft, Honeywell, Nov. 15, 2023
- Article: Honeywell to provide cFBW system support for AIBOT eVTOL aircraft, MRO Business Today, Nov. 15, 2023
- Article: California-Based AIBOT Secures $15 Million Grant, Propelling Innovation in AI-Defined eVTOL Aircraft for Advanced Air Mobility, Drone Life, Nov. 22, 2023
- Article: AIBot Partners with Honeywell to Develop Flight Controls for Autonomous eVTOL Aircraft, FutureFlight, Dec. 14, 2023
- Article: Startup AIBOT To Integrate AI Into eVTOL Vehicles, Aviation Week, Dec. 20, 2023
- Video: Going the Distance with AIBOT, Dawn Zoldi, Jan. 21, 2024
- Video: A look into the engineering behind AIBOT's new drone, Dawn Zoldi, Jan. 24, 2024
- Article: AIBOT: Creating AI-Defined Enterprise Drones and Air Taxis!, AUVSI, Jan. 30, 2024
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