W5170124C0067

Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) Phase I

Full Aircraft Autonomy for New and Existing Aircraft

The Xwing product is a platform-flexible, autonomous flight technology stack that enables aircraft to operate fully unmanned with an optional remote supervisor. Xwing s technology includes sensor fusion of flight control systems, collision avoidance technologies, machine perception systems, auto braking systems, and other capabilities that jointly support autonomous gate-to-gate flight. To be clear, our product: fully removes the need for a pilot or crew onboard the aircraft, enables the aircraft to operate a programmed flight plan and automatically respond to off-nominal internal or external conditions fully independently from any human input, optionally allows for a remote human supervisor to interact with and re-task the aircraft in-flight, and is intended for DoD UAS groups 4 & 5, or commercial 14 CFR Part 23 or Part 25 aircraft. While existing autopilots are limited to controlling aircraft attitude and throttle, Xwing s core innovations add collision avoidance technologies that allow for electronic detect and avoid of both ground and air hazards, mission manager software which is the autonomous decision making function that responds to all off-nominal conditions, and a ground control station that allows the supervisor to optionally interact with the aircraft. Key enabling technologies for Xwing s autonomous system include perception hardware (e.g., LIDAR and Air-To-Air Radar) and machine learning software. A unique and defining feature of Xwing s approach to autonomy is that the onboard systems are designed to safety fly the mission and off-nominal scenarios completely independently of any human input. Xwing operates a prototype autonomous Cessna Grand Caravan for regular R&D and market research flights. With that aircraft, Xwing has autonomously flown over 200 missions, 350 flight hours, and 450 landings. Xwing also operates 34 conventionally piloted aircraft on nearly 400 flights per week as a cargo-feeder airline and intends to initially deploy certified autonomous aircraft commercially in this network for UPS. With our technical demonstrator, the world's first and only FAA certification project for an uncrewed aircraft, and airline experience, we are confident we are building the right product and are on track to introduce an autonomous commercial service aircraft. Xwing views collaboration with the U.S. Army under this SBIR as an accelerator of our technical development and transition of our technology the defense industry. Xwing sees substantial opportunities for fully uncrewed and autonomous aircraft to fulfill army capability gaps. We propose to use this Phase I SBIR to elicit clear requirements for autonomous flight from Army stakeholders, identify product-fit opportunities for our technology, and demonstrate our technology to Army personnel. Evaluating the adaptation of our commercial prototype system to Army aircraft and use cases is a critical R&D project to allow for future dual use of the technology.

The goal of phase I is to establish the technical merit, feasibility, and commercial potential of proposed R&D efforts and determine the quality of performance of the small business awardee organization.

A234-P017

A234-P017-1372

23.4

Paul Flanigen