It’s been more than a week since the Dubai Airshow and the AAM market has been quick to praise the event as yet another opportunity to bring the industry together and foster meaningful conversations.
While the week was full of new partnerships being announced between established companies, it was also the chance for eVTOL Insights to connect with those only just embarking on their journey towards certification.
One of these companies is AIBOT, a California-based startup co-founded by Jerry Wang, RK Jia and ZK Jia. Frustrated by the monotonous, inefficient, and far from environmentally friendly options in short and medium-distance transportation, the three reimagined travel.
They envision a safe, simple-to-operate aircraft for everyday use and launched AIBOT in 2022, marking the beginning of a journey aimed at disrupting the next generation of mobility and revolutionising how we perceive and experience everyday travel.
During the Dubai Airshow, AIBOT announced a collaboration with Honeywell, which will be providing its advanced flight control system for AIBOT’s manned aircraft.
eVTOL Insights was given an exclusive opportunity to talk in more detail to the AIBOT team and Taylor Alberstadt, Honeywell’s Senior Director, Global Sales & Account Management, Advanced Air Mobility.
What can you tell me about your company?
Jerry Wang: “We are a California-based aiEVTOL company and have the vision to disrupt the next generation of mobility, transforming the aviation industry to usher in the B2C era, making the freedom of flight an accessible reality anytime, anywhere, for every household.
“There is a huge opportunity in this industry that will last the next 20 to 50 years. We believe that with our Ultra-High Tech and Hyper-Performance aiEVTOL and partners such as Honeywell, we’re able to build something together that can really change how people move, transport, and live. It will change things in a major way.”
What can you tell us about AIBOT’s flagship product?
John Clarkson, Chief Engineer, AIBOT: “Our first manned aircraft is 7,000 lbs. and has eight- motors. We did a lot of subscales, and one of those subscales is going to become an unmanned commercial product later next year. It will also be used as a development tool for our manned product, where we’ve utilised Honeywell’s expertise and its flight control system.”
What does your current roadmap look like?
JW: “This is a very exciting development. We formed the company about two years ago, but we’re able to move very, very fast. We started with a small 20-pound prototype, then moved to a 55-pound prototype, then to a 500-pound prototype. We’ve now built a 700lb production-intent version as an unmanned commercial aircraft, which will be able to fully transition from vertical takeoff to horizontal flight and then back to a vertical landing.
“We have been proving our software and hardware technology capabilities and next year, we want to launch a pre-production aircraft that will not only help the continuous development of our flagship manned product, but we also see a commercialisation opportunity to create early revenue and adapt the industrialisation of unmanned, commercial projects. With the right execution and with good partners such as Honeywell, we will make it happen.”
As well as passenger-carrying operations, will you be looking to utilise any other use cases?
JW: “Generally yes, because we see a lot of parallels between manned and unmanned vehicle development and even production. “You need to define your product specifically to use cases. We have a very good understanding of user needs and our products are tailor-made for those commercial opportunities. We know
we can make something happen to produce value.”
How important is it to have a brand like Honeywell supporting you on this venture?
JW: “We are excited to collaborate with Honeywell. As the lead supplier in the general aviation space and using the technology they provide us with fits perfectly with the direction of the product we’re building. We’re also happy to have the opportunity to contribute to the advancement and promotion of the overall AAM market.”
Taylor, can you tell us from Honeywell’s perspective, how you will be supporting AIBOT?
TA: “We’ll be supporting AIBOT with our flight controls hardware and software, which will support the work they’re doing for the MA7. But if we take a step back, prior to signing the contract there’s the dating stage, and we found a company which shares a lot of our ideals; very technology forward, focused on sustainability — that aligns with what we want to do in this phase.
“When we think about the Advanced Air Mobility industry, it’s a very big pie that needs to be eaten. So, for AIBOT to come to the table is a great thing for Honeywell and the market too. We’re very fortunate to be working with them, with not only core technology that we bring from legacy aerospace, but this is technology we’ve worked on applying to other AAM vehicles over the past few years.
“So they are able to stand on the shoulders of folks who have come before them. There will be the early entrants which will have a more challenging path to market and then you have this second wave that comes afterwards and benefits from all this goodness.
“Through existing development programs, Honeywell has been able to see benefits and possible risk areas through some of the work done already, and apply some of the lessons learnt with AIBOT.”
How will AIBOT be utilising Honeywell’s expertise going forward?
JC: “Working with Honeywell will definitely accelerate our market launch and enhance product performance. As well as the flight control systems, they have a wealth of products we can tap into, such as actuation and cockpit suite for example. All of this aids our journey.
“We’ve talked about the leaders in the field who are going through this challenge. The first cut is always the hardest and we’re benefiting a lot from that. So, with Honeywell, we can cherry-pick the best of their products, which will help us on the certification journey that we’re going to undertake. To have products that work well and have already been integrated into aircraft.
TA: “Our customers have requirements and they’re looking for technology that meets them. But beyond that, they are looking for people who they can work with, who they can rely on and who can support this journey beyond just being a provider of hardware software solutions.
“That’s where Honeywell really likes to differentiate ourselves to say ‘we’re here for you, to walk along this journey to certification.’ It’s working together to understand what end markets look like, going to the regulators jointly to talk about certification standards to ensure that the technology we’re developing is going to meet today’s and future standards in regards to regulation; opening doors to additional conversations that can be had with operators and end users.
“It’s this ecosystem, where we really want to co-create together.”
What are AIBOT’s certification plans? Are you already in conversation with the FAA?
JC: “We are US-based, so the initial journey will be with the FAA. We’re already starting to talk to them, and the relationship is growing. We will also look at global markets as well, as we have various expertise in various areas across the world that will assist that.
“We will be looking a lot at the bi-lateral agreements to see if we can leverage some of them, but the initial phase will be with the FAA.”
AIBOT is a company which is fairly new on its journey to market, but what are the main industry trends you’re seeing at the moment?
JW: “One idea that supported us to launch AIBOT and start this journey was seeing a revolutionised opportunity over the next 50 — 100 years. “Right now, the overall transportation system is running very efficiently; there are cars everywhere but limited to the current technology.
What AIBOT is working on, alongside Honeywell, is an opportunity to create a product to move people to a three-dimensional model and fully utilise all the spaces around the planet, which enables us to move more efficiently than what we’re able to do right now.
“It’s definitely a very exciting journey, and we believe that rather than saying ‘we’re competing with that company’, it’s instead working together to push this whole ecosystem and try to make our vision come true.”
Any final thoughts?
JW: “We think our collaboration with Honeywell is an amazing opportunity and a good fit for AIBOT, both regarding the teams and our vision. “In terms of Dubai and the UAE, I admire what they are trying to do here. They are very forward- looking and focused on AI, clean energy, transportation, and aviation. They have a vision for the next 50 years and are taking actual steps to make it happen.”
TA: “When we think about the Honeywell’s legacy of flight controls, it comes from big iron aircraft and it’s necessitated to shrink. “The only way it’s going to work on AIBOT and similar advanced air mobility vehicles is to make it smaller and lighter, but keep that same level of sophistication and improve on it.
“Our compact fly-by-wire system is now built and designed for the advanced air mobility market because these vehicles are not going to be flown by hand. When you have six, eight, ten or even 12 rotors, it’s impossible for a pilot to control them individually. This flight control system is creating a lighter, safer solution.
“You don’t have the mechanical linkages anymore, you have envelope protection built into it so a pilot cannot get themselves into a potentially catastrophic or unsafe position. The technology from the flight control laws itself are going to allow a pilot to make movements with the inceptors and get the right response from all of the affected surfaces.
“This box is purpose built for this market. The triplex redundant system is what advanced air mobility needs and what AIBOT is going to benefit from.”
