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Merlin, a Boston-based company developing “drop-in” autonomy kits for legacy fixed-wing aircraft, has received a $1 million contract from the FAA to demonstrate its autonomous flight control technology in the National Airspace System. Flight trials will take place over Alaska starting in the second quarter of 2023.
“The tests will be flown autonomously from takeoff to touchdown by the Merlin Pilot, with a human safety pilot on board to monitor the system,” Merlin co-founder and CEO Matthew George told FutureFlight. “Our safety pilots are all professional test pilots who are helping guide the transfer of the technology to [air]line pilots as our certification program matures.”
In partnership with Alaskan cargo carrier Everts Air Cargo, and in close collaboration with the FAA, Merlin will conduct flight trials along three cargo routes in Alaska using the Merlin Pilot autonomous flight control system. The routes will originate from an FAA-designated uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) test site at the University of Fairbanks and will travel to five destinations across Alaska: Fort Yukon, Galena, Prudhoe Bay, Huslia, and Tanana.&nbsp;
According to Merlin, these rural destinations are underserved by existing air cargo operations and could benefit from having better access to supplies. The area's challenging geography also poses inherent safety risks for conventionally piloted aircraft, which Merlin says it can alleviate with its highly automated Merlin Pilot.&nbsp;
“Alaska’s terrain and inclement weather can challenge the most experienced pilots,”&nbsp;said Cathy Cahill, director of the Alaska Center for UAS Integration. “And yet remote communities rely on air cargo deliveries for vital supplies such as milk, mail, and medicine. Working with Merlin on these flight trials benefits our residents and provides data with each flight that will create not only a safer airspace in Alaska but technology that is applicable worldwide.”
“This program will help thousands of our state’s remote residents to acquire supplies necessary to sustain life," Cahill added, "and it’s exciting that the advent of new technologies can drive greater equity and access across our communities.”&nbsp;
The goal of Merlin’s drop-in autonomy kits is to ease the ongoing pilot shortage while also making aviation safer and more efficient. Other autonomous flight start-ups like Xwing, Reliable Robotics, and Daedalean are working on similar self-piloting aircraft technologies. Merlin aims to convert multiple types of legacy fixed-wing aircraft to fully autonomous operations under FAA supplemental type certificates.&nbsp;
Last summer, Merlin (which formerly operated under the name Merlin Labs)&nbsp;announced that it had raised $105 million in its latest Series B funding round, bringing its total funding to $130 million. At the same time, the company announced that it had secured a<a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-07-14/merlin-labs-raises-105-million-partners-us-air-force-autonomous-flights"> partnership with the U.S. Air Force</a> to integrate the Merlin Pilot into the C-130J Super Hercules, the most-used cargo carrier in the Air Force’s fleet. Other customers include cargo carrier<a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-07-14/merlin-labs-raises-105-million-partners-us-air-force-autonomous-flights"> Ameriflight</a>, which aims to convert its fleet of Cessna 208B Caravan aircraft, and Virginia-based special-missions operator<a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2021-05-26/merlin-labs-partners-special-missions-operator-convert-king-airs-autonomous"> Dynamic Aviation</a>, which will convert up to 55 Textron King Air twin turboprops.&nbsp;
Merlin has already conducted hundreds of flight tests at its test facility in Mojave, California, using five aircraft equipped with the Merlin Pilot: two canards (a Rutan Long-EZ and a Cozy Mark IV), a King Air A90, a DHC-6 Twin Otter, and a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan.&nbsp;So far, all of those flight tests have been performed with a safety pilot on board. Eventually, the company hopes its autonomous flight technology will eliminate the need for any pilots on board small aircraft while allowing larger commercial airplanes to fly with reduced crew size.
“These initial flight trials are vital to maturing our in-flight capabilities, and it’s rewarding that this work will also serve a material need in the communities of Alaska,” George said in a written statement. “Alongside the FAA and our operating partner Everts Air Cargo, we’re thrilled that the Merlin Pilot will soon be learning in a real-world, complex environment.”

Science & Technology Editor

Hanneke Weitering

Merlin Wins $1 Million FAA Contract for Autonomous Flight Trials in Alaska

Autonomous flight pioneer Merlin Labs has selected Canadian avionics specialist CMC Electronics to power its autonomous flight systems, the company announced Thursday.
CMC Electronics will provide Merlin&nbsp;with its PU-3000 avionics computer, the world’s first civil-certified multicore mission computer, to host its autonomous flight-control software. Boston-based Merlin Labs is working to develop a “drop-in” autonomy conversion kit that can make various types of piloted, legacy aircraft completely self-piloted.&nbsp;
“The PU-3000 avionics computer has the multicore processing power, diverse interfaces, and civil certification pedigree we needed for our mission,” said Shaun Johnson, CEO of Merlin New Zealand Limited (a wholly owned subsidiary of Merlin Labs). “Merlin is delighted to partner with CMC Electronics to propel the future of fully autonomous flight and to build a safe and autonomous unmanned aerospace industry.”
Merlin Labs and other autonomous flight pioneers, such as <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-10-06/human-loop-my-ride-xwings-self-flying-aircraft">Xwing</a> and <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-08-23/faa-accepts-reliable-robotics-certification-basis-pilotless-technology">Reliable Robotics</a>, are hoping to help alleviate the ongoing pilot shortage by providing autonomous flight solutions to reduce and replace pilots in the cockpit. These companies all plan to begin operations in cargo transportation, but the same technology could also be used for commercial flights. Merlin Labs says its aim for now is to reduce crew in large cargo aircraft and eliminate the need for any crew at all on board smaller aircraft.
“At a time when crew shortages are a critical industry issue, we are pleased to be part of the solution alongside Merlin, which&nbsp;is enhancing aviation safety while pushing the boundaries of innovation,” said Brad Nolen, CMC’s v-p of sales and marketing.
This past summer, Merlin Labs announced that it had raised $105 million in its latest funding round—bringing its total funding raised to $130 million—and secured a <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-07-14/merlin-labs-raises-105-million-partners-us-air-force-autonomous-flights">partnership with the U.S. Air Force</a> to produce an autonomous flight system for the C-130J Super Hercules, the most-used cargo carrier in the Air Force’s fleet.&nbsp;

Merlin Labs Picks CMC's PU-3000 Avionics Computer for Autonomous Flight Solutions

The autonomous piloting start-up&nbsp;Merlin Labs has raised $105 million in its latest funding round and secured a partnership with the U.S. Air Force, the company announced on July 13.
Including this latest Series B funding round, the Boston-based company has now raised&nbsp;$130 million to develop its “drop-in autonomy kit,” which can convert various types of piloted, legacy aircraft to be fully autonomous. The company’s investors include Snowpoint Ventures, Baillie Gifford, and Google Ventures.
Under its newly announced partnership with the U.S. Air Force, Merlin Labs will produce an autonomous flight system for the C-130J Super Hercules, a military transport aircraft built by Lockheed Martin and the most-used cargo craft in the Air Force’s fleet.&nbsp;
“Mirroring its civilian applications, Merlin will help the Air Force enhance safety and operational flexibility,” Merlin officials wrote in Wednesday’s announcement. “Merlin's advanced hardware and software technologies allow for increased safety and the possibility of crew reductions in the face of a global shortage of pilots,” the company added.
Merlin Labs aims to convert multiple aircraft in the public and private sectors under FAA supplemental type certificates. In September 2021, the company announced that the FAA and the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand had approved the certification basis for its planned supplemental type certificate for digital copilot-assisted, one-pilot cargo carriers. This represented a small but significant step in its “crawl, walk, run” approach to eventual certification for fully autonomous flights.
Shortly after it emerged from “stealth mode” in 2021, the company announced a partnership <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2021-12-08/ameriflight-will-convert-freighter-fleet-autonomous-flight">with the U.S. cargo carrier Ameriflight</a> to convert its fleet to Merlin’s autonomous system, an effort to curb the worsening commercial pilot shortage. Merlin is also working with Virginia-based Dynamic Aviation <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2021-05-26/merlin-labs-partners-special-missions-operator-convert-king-airs-autonomous">to convert up to 55 Textron King Air</a> twin turboprops for autonomous flight.&nbsp;
Merlin Labs has told FutureFlight that the converted aircraft will always be supervised by human pilots on the ground and that all flight testing is conducted with a pilot on board.&nbsp;However, the company&nbsp;has said&nbsp;that it will achieve&nbsp;greater efficiency&nbsp;from autonomous operations after aviation regulators give clearance for the monitoring pilots to supervise multiple aircraft simultaneously.&nbsp;
“Our approach is to build high levels of redundant onboard autonomy to ensure that even if the link to a remote pilot is lost, that aircraft can still safely operate,” a company spokesman said in an earlier statement. “This differs from a remotely piloted approach where the human operator is in charge of performing many critical functions, such as talking to air traffic controllers and manipulating control surfaces, instead of simply monitoring the autonomy.”
The company has said that it expects to receive its first supplemental type certification for an autonomous flight-converted aircraft by the end of 2023.

Merlin Labs Raises $105 Million, Partners with U.S. Air Force for Autonomous Flights

Merlin Labs has agreed to a partnership to convert up to 55 Textron King Air twin turboprops operated by Dynamic Aviation for autonomous flight. The Boston-based company has raised $25 million to support its plans to bring its “drop-in autonomy kit” into commercial service.
The first King Air from Dynamic’s fleet is being used for flight testing at a facility in the Mojave Air &amp; Space Port in California. Merlin intends to convert multiple aircraft types under FAA supplemental type certificates for use in a variety of public- and private-sector applications.
The Merlin Flight Control system consists of a combination of computers, servos, actuators, and sensors that the company claims can be installed in a wide array of existing aircraft. The conversion process begins with the company performing a series of survey flights in which a test pilot conducts maneuvers from which Merlin’s engineering team receives data.
Using this data, Merlin builds an autonomous flight control model that is specific to each aircraft type, using hardware-in-the-loop, software-in-the-loop, and aircraft-in-the-loop simulators. Once it has established that the model works in the simulators, the company installs them in a real aircraft and then gradually expands the envelope for autonomous flight, culminating in full takeoff to touchdown autonomy.
The FAA has issued given Merlin its approval to&nbsp;conduct optionally piloted tests that allow&nbsp;the company to control flights from the ground for some operations. All flight testing is conducted with a monitoring pilot on board.
The company explained to FutureFlight that its operating model will always involve a human pilot supervising deployed aircraft. It maintains that greater efficiency will result from autonomous operations when aviation regulators give clearance for each monitoring pilot to supervise multiple aircraft. Air traffic controllers will communicate directly with the flight control system using natural language processing.
“Our approach is to build high levels of redundant onboard autonomy to ensure that even if the link to a remote pilot is lost, that aircraft can still safely operate,” a company spokesman said in a written statement. “This differs from a remotely piloted approach where the human operator is in charge of performing many critical functions, such as talking to air traffic controllers and manipulating control surfaces, instead of simply monitoring the autonomy.”
The partnership announced this week calls for Dynamic to operate the aircraft under contract to end-users. The Virginia-based operator uses its King Airs and other aircraft for a variety of services including intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, data acquisition flights, and public health and safety support.
Merlin has not announced when it aims to have the STC for the King Air conversion approved. It has also not disclosed an estimated price for the equipment, including installation.
The company was founded in 2018 and has been operating in stealth mode until this week. The $25 million funding round was led by Google Ventures and First Round Capital and also backed by investors including Floodgate, Harpoon, WTI, Ben Ling, Box Group, Shrug Capital, and Howard Morgan.

Merlin

News

Merlin Wins $1 Million FAA Contract for Autonomous Flight Trials in Alaska

Merlin Labs Picks CMC's PU-3000 Avionics Computer for Autonomous Flight Solutions

Merlin Labs Raises $105 Million, Partners with U.S. Air Force for Autonomous Flights

Merlin Labs Partners With Special Missions Operator to Convert King Airs for Autonomous Flight

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