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Autonomous flight is a major challenge in aviation – and a gold mine. The first company is making good profit only in transportation and logistics. In the year In 2020, the size of the global cargo airline industry was $110.8 billion, according to Statista, and one source estimated that it would generate hundreds of billions in revenue by 2027.
Xwing is one of the startups pursuing self-flying aircraft, such as Reliable Robotics, Pica, and the Unicorn Volcopter. They are not the only ones. About a year ago, Boston-based Merlin Labs came out of hiding with an autonomous flight system designed to be installed in existing aircraft. While Merlin told TechCrunch at the time that it had “hundreds” of test flights under its belt, the company’s system lacked certification from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for commercial service.
That recently changed. In September, Merlin received approval from the FAA and New Zealand’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for a “validation basis” for its autonomous system, part of a joint project between the FAA and the CAA. Post-certification, Merlin has partnered with aircraft operators Dynamic Aviation and AmeriFlight in the landing and defense sectors to provide the system to the US Air Force to retrofit the service’s C-130J Super Hercules cargo planes.
Image Credits: Merlin Labs
Investors who were pleased with the process invested significant capital in Merlin, raising the size of the Series B round to $105 million. The round, announced today, was co-led by Snowpoint and Bailey Gifford with participation from GV (formerly Google Ventures), bringing Merlin’s total raised to $130 million.
“Merlin was founded to define what the next 100 years of aviation could be,” CEO Matt George told TechCrunch in an email interview. “A core part of my desire to establish Merlin is to increase pilot safety and operational flexibility by adding autonomous systems to existing aircraft.”
George is a two-time founder, formerly known as Bridj, a platform that supports on-demand public transportation providers. Before the bridge ran out of runway, it received modest acclaim in Boston, Washington, D.C., and Austin, selling its assets, including the brand, to Australian company Transit Systems. With Merlin, George – drawing on his experience as a pilot – hopes to make a smooth landing.
“We continue to achieve our certification values… [W]I want to build on that record of trust and safety with the new funding,” said George. “The business case is relatively simple: with transportation costs rising and a global pilot shortage, autonomy can help ease the cost burden on companies, and at the same time increase pilot safety, with an always-on, alert and intelligent robotic co-pilot in the air.” in framework.
Merlin’s avionics system uses GPS, intertial navigation systems, air data, and altitude and heading reference systems to establish the aircraft’s current position and altitude. The system performs actions using actuators connected to the aircraft, which are controlled by the on-board flight computer.
Flight is complicated; In the year Fatal accidents like Lion Air Flight 610 in 2018 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 in 2019 are sobering reminders of this. But George argues that autonomy in the air is easier than on the road because ground-based radar provides a “complete view” of everything in the sky – at least in the US, where Merlin technology is based solely on autopilot systems. It is now ubiquitous on large commercial aircraft, often handling in-flight procedures and landings.
As a failsafe, pilots will fly with the Merlin system in armored aircraft, George says, and their data will be used to improve the system’s efficiency and safety.
Image Credits: Merlin Labs
One unique feature of Merlin’s product is the use of speech recognition to communicate with air traffic controllers. George explained that the Merlin system was designed to receive verbal instructions from control towers, interpret and interpret the instructions, and adjust flight instructions accordingly. George said he had to train on different accents and voice types to make sure the system was “really robust and useful.”
Since speech recognition is flawed, a human pilot takes over when it fails.
Despite having more than $100 million in funding, Merlin is not as well funded as some of its competitors. But George says the startup is already generating “8+ figures of revenue,” a milestone in the startup market.
Defense could be a lucrative new business line for Merlin given recent geopolitical developments. A rival, Shield AI, recently raised $165 million at a $2.3 billion valuation to develop its military autonomous flight system.
Fast Company previously reported that Merlin is working with the Air Force under an “other procurement authority” (OTA), a procurement contract that supports technology development until the government is ripe for defense contracting. Merlin described the amount as “significantly larger” than the traditional million dollars that OTAs typically sell for.
The autonomous flight industry, in addition to the technical challenges of flying autonomous aircraft, faces regulatory and public perception challenges… We are meeting these challenges together with key stakeholders to ensure a safe, scalable approach to autonomous flight. Flight,” said George. “The challenge presented by the pandemic serves as an example of the value of what we can do in aviation: The pandemic has fundamentally changed the way people shop, which in turn has put enormous pressure on retailers, carriers and logistics companies to transport and deliver goods.” It overwhelmed the aviation system at the time and in general.
George Merlin said it will use the money from its latest funding to expand testing, build new Zealand-based Class 135 cargo capacity and add 70 headcount in the US and New Zealand. (Merlin Labs has offices in Los Angeles, Denver, and New Zealand, as well as an independent flight facility in the Mojave Desert.) New Zealand’s Part 135 regulations set operational requirements for aircraft with less than nine seats and helicopters.
Merlin has previously said that it expects to see autonomous flights that can take off, navigate, land and communicate with air traffic control by 2023.
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