About Pathfinding for Airspace with Autonomous Vehicles
5 min readAbout Pathfinding for Airspace with Autonomous Vehicles Artist’s concept of drones flying in an urban environment near large city skyscrapers.NASA / Maria Werries Remotely piloted aircraft could transform the way we transport people and goods and provide our communities with better access to vital services, like medical supply deliveries and efficient transportation. NASA’s Pathfinding for Airspace with Autonomous Vehicles (PAAV) subproject is working with partners to safely integrate remote air cargo and air taxi aircraft into our national airspace alongside traditional crewed aircraft. These new types of vehicles could make air cargo deliveries and air travel more affordable and accessible to communities across the country. The Need The United States large air cargo fleet is expected to grow significantly through 2044 to meet cargo demand, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). However, pilot shortages exacerbated by early retirements and crew reductions implemented during the coronavirus outbreak continue to present a challenge to...