Climate Technology
In the realm of Climate Tech, particularly within the sustainable transportation sector, the integration of autonomous aircraft and optimized flight planning emerges as a pivotal innovation. Metal Raptor stands at the forefront of this transformative journey, harnessing the power of autonomous flight to redefine the efficiency and environmental impact of air travel. Unlike traditional human-piloted aircraft, autonomous aircraft excel in precision and operational efficiency, significantly reducing the likelihood of human error and optimizing flight paths for energy conservation. By leveraging advanced algorithms and real-time data analytics, our flight guidance systems for autonomous aircraft ensure the selection of the most direct and energy-efficient routes. This not only streamlines air traffic management but also plays a crucial role in minimizing carbon emissions.
How Big is the Problem
In 2018, the aviation sector in the United States generated approximately 175 megatons (Mt) of CO2 from burning jet fuel or aviation gasoline. Projections indicate the US aviation industry will contribute approximately 350 Mt of CO2 in the 2050 timeframe without any changes to the current technological or operational paradigm.
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Emission Reduction
A precursor to autonomous flight guidance is NASA's TASAR research. Known as Traffic Aware Strategic Aircrew Requests, the machine learning program is manually implemented by human pilots providing more efficient routing for aircraft while in flight. Tests indicate a potential reduction of 9% in emissions by 2050 if the software is leveraged by all large US airlines. Similarly, Dassault Aviation who makes the popular Falcon series corporate jets, recently released a route optimization tool for their aircraft that is reducing fuel consumption by 7%. Both approaches are effective first steps and clear indicators of the massive potential for artificial intelligence and autonomous aircraft to reduce flight times and substantially lessen emissions.
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Our Solutions
We are expanding technology beyond TASAR (route optimization) and Dassault's FalconWays App (primarily focused on wind information) to enable autonomous aircraft to take advantage of hyper efficient flight management algorithms that manage a myriad of optimization and adaptive response strategies. Automation has proven itself a valuable tool in improving decision making and lowering operational costs, which includes minimizing emissions. As autonomous flight guidance becomes standard in the National and International Airspace Metal Raptor expects a leapfrog effect to occur with a substantial move to electric powered aircraft. An Inmarsat study found that use of electric UAVs can result in up to a 47% reduction in CO2 emissions than light delivery vehicles over the same distance and with the same weight of cargo.
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https://www.inmarsat.com/en/insights/aviation/2021/uavs-unlocking-positive-transformation-world.html