In 2019, Haofeng (Hector) Xu, a Ph.D. candidate at MIT’s Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, started learning to fly helicopters; a journey that inspired him to enhance the safety of helicopter flight. By 2021, he had founded an autonomous helicopter company called Rotor Technologies, Inc. Rotor Technologies aims to reduce the fatalities that occur in small private aircraft in the U.S. every year by retrofitting existing helicopters with sensors and software to automate some of the most dangerous flights.
Rotor’s autonomous helicopters can fly faster, longer, and carry heavier payloads than battery-powered drones while providing more safety than manned flights. The company gets its helicopters airborne around its headquarters in Nashua, New Hampshire, for demo flights and plans to start selling them later this year.
Unlike many companies attempting to combine new vehicles with new technology, Rotor focuses on the autonomy area. It uses proven helicopter models to accelerate commercialization. Xu and his team, which includes numerous MIT affiliates, have worked hard to enhance the automation of helicopter flight while establishing communication systems between the ground and the aircraft.
Rotor Technologies works with a well-known aircraft from the Robinson Helicopter Company, which significantly reduces design and production challenges. It utilizes a “fly-by-wire” system, a set of computers and motors interacting with the helicopter’s flight control features, and adds a suite of advanced communication tools and sensors.
While the company moves towards a future with no pilots in the cockpit, human involvement is still critical. Every flight is overseen by a human expert, combining the reliability of automation with superior human decision-making skills.
Rotor’s aircraft, the R550X, has several advantages over existing small aircraft. It can carry loads up to 1,212 pounds, reach speeds over 120 miles per hour, and stay in the air for hours thanks to auxiliary fuel tanks. The system is cloud-monitored 24/7, and flights are currently limited to remote areas to avoid risk to human life.
Rotor Technologies plans to sell a few aircraft this year, aiming to produce 50 to 100 aircraft a year in the future. As Rotor continues to expand, Xu is hopeful that his company will not only make flying safer but also change daily life by enabling more affordable vertical take-off and landing aircraft.
