Many people inevitably have this question: since they are all "unmanned", will the jobs needed by traditional aviation disappear in the future? The answer is no, and perhaps in the future, many jobs will be replaced by computers and AI, and new jobs will be created.
Wisk Aero, Boeing's Evtol company, gave an answer last year when they created a position called MVSOR (Multi-Aircraft Supervisor).
Wisk believes that it is only through autonomous flight technology that the advanced air mobility industry can achieve higher levels of safety, scalability, and affordability to ensure that everyone can safely fly every day. Wisk's evtol adds proprietary hierarchical decision-making logic and algorithms, as well as additional perception capabilities, to create a more automated system with deterministic results, thus freeing people from their original jobs.
The autonomous flight approach means that there are no pilots on the plane, but this is not achieved overnight, and the aviation industry is always evolving. Wisk's blog post explains that every commercial passenger flight is currently operated by two human pilots. Previously, the aircraft had a much larger crew, such as: navigators and flight engineers. With the development of technology, these functions can be operated by computers. Similarly, the MVSOR role is another evolution of the human role in aviation.
Each WISK flight will be initiated and monitored by an MVSOR (Multi-Aircraft Supervisor) from the Fleet Operations Center (FOC). MVSOR will oversee multiple Wisk Empty Car Rentals at the same time and will be responsible for coordinating with Air Traffic Control (ATC). MVSOR works closely with the wider fleet operations team (fleet managers, reception managers and ground staff) to ensure that flights are safe and on time.
If needed, the MVSOR can send new instructions to the aircraft; However, they could not directly control the aircraft and fly long-distance. The MVSOR role is an evolution of the human pilot role today.
Wisk also indicated that it is not advisable to replace pilots of commercial airliners (with fully autonomous systems) or cancel pilot jobs. It's about creating jobs in aviation, not taking them away, which doesn't exist yet. This new position could provide opportunities for those who have traditionally been unable to obtain positions in the aviation industry for various reasons, such as those with disabilities in both legs.
Wisk is working closely with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to conduct in-depth testing to determine the specific skills, qualifications or certifications required to become an MVSOR. In the most recent round of testing, Wisk studied how MVSOR handles deviations from flight plans issued by the ATC. The purpose of the test was to understand how the MVSOR, which manages multiple aircraft, responds to and processes multiple ATC instructions. The tests provide valuable data and enlightening feedback to help evaluate and provide recommendations to the FAA about the MVSOR role and its interaction with autonomous systems, as well as to improve the design of the system.
Company Overview
Wisk Aero was originally founded in 2010 to explore the possibilities of electric vertical take-off and landing flights, which later merged with Kitty Hawk Corporation. Kitty Hawk is a flying taxi company funded by Google co-founder Larry Page. Recognising the potential of its fifth-generation electric air ** car rental, the company spun off the aircraft and team to create Wisk Aero and receive investment from Boeing.
Since 2019, Wisk has been working hand in hand with Boeing to develop an autonomous all-electric concept aircraft. Boeing was previously one of the start-up Wisk's two leaders. Another East Kitty Hawk gave its stake in Wisk to Boeing after ceasing operations in 2022. In 2023, Wisk will be wholly acquired by Boeing, but will still operate independently.
According to Wisk Aero's official website, the company has created a series of firsts in the field of aviation, including the world's first complete transition flight of EVTOL (first-generation air** car rental), the world's first fly-by-wire, all-electric, human-grade manned EVTOL (second-generation air** car rental, 2015), and the world's first full-transition flight of manned electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (third-generation air** car rental, 2017).
Wisk is headquartered in Mountain View, California, USA, and has branches around the world. Brian Yutko, CEO of Wisk Aero, was previously Vice President of Sustainability and Future Mobility and Chief Engineer in the field at Boeing.
In December, Wisk Aero, a leading advanced air mobility (AAM) company, updated its previously announced version of the Unmanned Urban Air Mobility (UAM) Operational Concept (ConOps), which was developed in collaboration with Boeing, according to Wisk Aero's official website.
Conops defines the approach to the transition from manned to unmanned flight and provides a blueprint for unmanned, passenger-carrying and urban air mobility (UAM) operations utilizing highly automated, electric aircraft. The latest version of the document outlines a high-level vision while providing detailed technical, regulatory, and societal recommendations to help drive the safe implementation of driverless UAMs. [Add WeChat at the end of the article to get the translated version pdf].
The goal of the document is to safely launch unmanned UAM passenger operations in the U.S. National Airspace System by the end of this decade, while paving the way for the goal of transitioning to high-throughput operations in subsequent years. It describes the key principles and assumptions of unmanned aerial vehicles, the operating environment, and normal operations that rely on existing traffic management concepts.
The evolution of successive generations: a series of aviation firsts
Since 2010, Wisk Aero has designed and developed six generations of aircraft. Each generation of aircraft is an evolution of the previous version. Throughout the project, the main goal was always to improve overall safety and provide one of the highest safety standards in the industry.
First Generation: The first generation of the aircraft was a full-scale proof-of-concept machine, proving that its design was viable. The year of operation is from 2011 to 2014, and for the first time in the world, a full transition flight (vertical take-off, transition to wing flight, and transition back to hovering and vertical landing) was achieved.
2nd Generation: The 2nd generation aircraft was WISK's first piloted flight. Operated in 2015, it is the world's first fly-by-wire, all-electric, human-grade manned evtol.
3rd Generation: Many components of the 3rd generation aircraft are used in future aircraft, such as: aircraft structure and wing shape. The third-generation aircraft was a finalist for the Collier Trophy, showcasing the full flight status of a piloted electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft.
The year of operation is from 2015 to 2017, and for the first time, WISK has achieved piloted electric vertical take-off and landing hovering, and WISK has achieved pilot electric vertical take-off and landing transition for the first time.
For the aircraft, Wisk began testing new software, autonomous architectures, sensors, hardware, and other components. **The aircraft enables it to begin developing a broader ecosystem such as airspace integration, infrastructure, and AAM service providers.
**For the first time, an aircraft can fly off the runway autonomously.
Fifth generation: CORA
Wisk Aero's fifth-generation electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, known as CORA, is a fixed-wing autonomous aircraft designed for use in air ** car rentals.
According to Wisk Aero's official website, in July 2023, Wisk Aero successfully completed the world's first publicly demonstrated flight of a fully automated, fixed-wing air** rental car. The milestone flight, which took place at the EAA Aviation Congress, also marked the company's first public demonstration of its fifth-generation autonomous eVTOL technology demonstrator, CORA. The flight included a number of flight maneuvers that demonstrated the aircraft's unique capabilities, such as hovering, 360-degree turns in place, and more.
The Cora has two seats and a wing length of 36 feet. The aircraft is equipped with 12 independently operated electric lift propellers for vertical take-off and landing, and a three-bladed propeller for forward thrust. The Coro has a maximum flight range of 60 miles and can reach speeds of up to 112 miles per hour.
Sixth Generation: Wisk's sixth generation aircraft is the world's first autonomous, all-electric, four-seat EVTOL air** rental car designed specifically for passenger transport.
Building on the experience of the previous five generations, the Wisk Aero sixth-generation aircraft is designed to meet or exceed the highest possible aviation standards using a variety of approaches, such as autonomous flight under human supervision, a more simplified design with fewer moving parts, a fully redundant system, and the elimination of single points of failure.
Wisk Aero has selected Safran Electronics & Defences (Safran) to supply SkyNature for its sixth generation of autonomous all-electric air** car rentals, which can be used for fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters and drones navigation applications. The inertial navigation system is an ultimate navigation instrument, which is able to calculate the accurate position and attitude information of the carrier due to the use of high-precision gyroscopes and accelerometers to measure the rotation and acceleration of the carrier, and the inertial navigation system has complete autonomy compared to satellite navigation and positioning systems. Even when GNSS signals are missing or interfered with, the design ensures a precise trajectory of the 6th generation autonomous flight air** rental car in all flight phases for optimal flight.
The 6th generation of Autonomous Flying Air** uses a proprietary 12-propeller design and boom configuration, with six front rotors to control the aircraft horizontally, vertically or tilted, and six rear rotors to keep it fixed in a vertical position, with a wing spread length of approximately 36 meters.
The aircraft can carry up to four passengers, and screens are set up in front of each seat in the interior to provide flight information, including important information such as flight route, itinerary progress, and heading. The aircraft is equipped with an aeronautical system developed by WiskAero's own platform, consisting of an autopilot, a precision navigation system, a data link, and its proprietary, program-based decision-making logic software, which can be fully unmanned.
With a cruising speed of 120 knots and a range of 90 miles, the sixth-generation Autopilot Aerial ** rental car can reach altitudes of 2,500 to 4,000 feet with a wingspan of nearly 50 feet. The interior design mimics that of a car, and passengers can enjoy unobstructed views, comfortable seats, Wi-Fi, charging facilities, and more. It will be officially launched to the mass market in 2024.