Transportation

Haofeng 'Hector' Xu's PhD studies in aviation and aerospace engineering at MIT’s Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics led him to train as a helicopter pilot. After encountering several near-miss situations, Xu decided to make helicopter flights safer and founded Rotor Technologies, Inc. in 2021. The company is retrofitting existing helicopters with sensors and software to…

In the quest to make helicopter flights safer, helicopter enthusiast and researcher, Hector (Haofeng) Xu, launched Rotor Technologies, an autonomous helicopter company in 2021. The basis for the company's operations was informed by Xu's knowledge of the concerning mortality rates in small, private aircraft that are often used for fighting fires, crop dusting and medical…

After witnessing the potential dangers attached to helicopter flights, MIT PhD Hector (Haofeng) Xu founded Rotor Technologies, Inc. in 2021. The autonomous helicopter company aims to make helicopter flight safer by retrofitting existing helicopters with advanced sensors and software. This technology, in turn, removes the pilot from dangerous flights and widens the use of aviation. Across…

In 2019, after years of studying aviation and aerospace engineering, Hector (Haofeng) Xu decided to learn how to fly helicopters. While pursuing his PhD in MIT’s Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Xu experienced the inherent risks of flying small aircrafts firsthand and was inspired to make helicopter flights safer. In 2021, he established his company…