In 2019, Hector (Haofeng) Xu, a PhD student from MIT’s Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, decided to learn to fly helicopters, aiming to improve their safety. Two years later, he founded Rotor Technologies, Inc., an autonomous helicopter company addressing the risks that many pilots face, especially those involving small, private aircraft in the United States.
Rotor is enhancing existing helicopters with software and sensors to make flights safer and more efficient, particularly in high-risk situations such as firefighting, medical evacuations, and crop dusting. Its autonomous helicopters have greater endurance and higher payload capacity compared to battery-powered drones, making them commercially viable. Rotor’s helicopters have started doing demo flights, with customers to purchase them by the end of the year.
Rotor’s chief commercial officer, Ben Frank maintains that the company is focused on autonomy to make vertical flight safer and more accessible. The shift from piloted to unpiloted aircraft promises to be a significant change in the aviation industry.
Xu, a former Cambridge University student, has built a formidable team of like-minded individuals from MIT. The company has several MIT affiliates, including Rotor’s Chief Technology Officer, Yiou He. The company has benefitted from the MIT Venture Mentoring Service, the Industrial Liaison Program, and the National Science Foundation’s New England Innovation Corps program.
Rotor’s approach differs from most start-ups trying to build vehicles from scratch. Instead, the company collaborates with well-established helicopter producers like the Robinson Helicopter Company. Existing aircraft are retrofitted with new technologies, including “fly by wire” systems and communication tools, leveraging the existing supply chain and customer familiarity with the aircraft.
Xu envisions a future where there are no in-cockpit pilots and the company is working towards this by building robust on-board autonomous systems. Additionally, Rotor offers 24/7 flight monitoring through a cloud-based human supervision system named Cloudpilot, where their aircraft start off in remote areas to minimize human injury risks.
Rotor’s R550X variant can carry loads of up to 1,212 pounds, travel at speeds exceeding 120 miles per hour, and stay in the air for extended periods equipped with auxiliary fuel tanks. Potential customers could utilize these aircraft for various applications, from extending flying times and enhancing safety to pioneering novel missions.
The company plans to initially sell a few aircraft, then scale its production to potentially produce 50 to 100 aircraft a year afterward. Xu expects that Rotor’s safety-based impact, along with resolving long-standing challenges for helicopter operators, could significantly change daily life by making vertical take-off-and-landing aircraft more autonomous, safer, and affordable.
