Near Earth Autonomy takes Autonomous Flight to New Heights!

Pittsburgh has been deeply involved in autonomous LAND vehicles. But did you know about the city's prominence in AEROSPACE vehicles.  These are NOT  human-guided drones but truly autonomous aerospace vehicles that operate safely and efficiently across multiple applications.  For those who were at our very well attended Robotics Institute talk and tour (45 attendees!), Near Earth Autonomy is a spinoff of the work done at CMU - but now in the sky!

Near Earth Autonomy, located on the edge of the Point Breeze neighborhood, was founded in 2012 by Sanjiv Singh, Marcel Bergerman and Lyle Chamberlain, all from the robotics and computer engineering departments at Carnegie Mellon University. 

Near Earth’s technology allows aircraft to autonomously take off, fly, and land safely, with or without GPS. Their solutions enable aerial mobility applications for partners in the commercial and defense sectors. Near Earth bridges the gap between aerospace and robotics with complete systems that improve efficiency, performance, and safety for aircraft ranging from small drones to full-size helicopters. Their work won the 2022 Pittsburgh Technology Council AI/ML/Robotics - Innovator of the Year Award, the 2018 Howard Hughes Award recognizing outstanding improvements in fundamental helicopter technology, and was a 2017 finalist for the Collier Trophy, one of the top aviation awards in the world.

The event will open at 5:00 pm with light refreshments and the talk from the co-founders will begin at 5:30 pm.  Following Q&A, there will be an opportunity to view several of the autonomous flight vehicles.   Everything should wrap by around 7:00 pm.  Nearby street parking is available and logistical information will be sent to registered attendees closer to the event.

Due to space constraints the number of attendees will be limited.  Tickets to cover expenses are $10 for HBSCP Members and their guests.  All others pay $20.