(Left to Right) Juerg Frefel, co-founder and CTO; Congresswoman Anna Eshoo; Robert Rose, co-founder and CEO; and Senator Josh Becker cut the ribbon for the new facility expansion. (Photo: Business Wire)
A new engineering development center will enable the company to ‘more quickly iterate and mature’ its designs, a company official said
February 17, 2023
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.—In an effort to accelerate innovation in the aviation industry, Reliable Robotics has opened a new engineering and development center at its headquarters in Silicon Valley. The expansion, marked by a recent ribbon cutting ceremony, will enable Reliable Robotics to carry out research, development, and manufacturing at the facility, the company said in a release.
In their remarks at the ribbon cutting ceremony, Congresswoman Anna Eshoo and California State Senator Josh Becker highlighted innovation taking place in the region. The ceremony was also attended by top local elected officials and representatives from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA.
“Reliable Robotics is on a mission to make aviation safer with technologies like auto-landing and auto-takeoff systems,” said Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, in a statement. “It’s exciting to get a glimpse of the transformational aviation safety technology being developed in the 16th district. In my two decades in Congress, I have promoted policies that foster innovation in Silicon Valley, and I am thrilled that Reliable Robotics is leveraging our talented workforce.”
Reliable Robotics said it is designing advanced autopilot systems with high precision navigation that will enhance aviation safety by enabling all-weather auto-taxi, auto-takeoff, and auto-landing, without new ground infrastructure. For the small towns and rural communities served by our nation’s more than 5,000 general aviation airports (only a fraction of which have airline service), these technologies will improve access and enable the delivery of time-critical shipments, such as medical supplies, the company said.
The Reliable team is manufacturing and testing high-performance actuators, flight computers, and other components in-house. This technology is described as the backbone of a continuous engagement autopilot that will “prevent loss of control in flight, controlled flight into terrain, fuel mismanagement, and other causes of fatal aviation accidents,” according to the release.
“This expansion builds on our early investments in quality assurance processes, rigorous safety analysis, and information technology infrastructure, and enables our team to more quickly iterate and mature our designs,” said Aaron Piercy, director of manufacturing, supply chain, and quality at Reliable Robotics, in the release. “We’re focused on reaching our certification objectives, and this puts us in a great position to immediately scale our operations thereafter.”
The company said its safety-enhancing systems will initially be deployed on the Cessna Caravan, a popular cargo aircraft that serves regional airports, and can be adapted for use on almost any aircraft. Reliable Robotics recently achieved acceptance of its G-1 issue paper, a crucial milestone with the FAA on the path to certification of the technology for commercial use.
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