A SAN DEIGO-BASED startup plans to meet some of the demand for air freight with an innovative solution: autonomous cargo drones as big as a Boeing 747, reports Silicon Valley's SingularityHub.
Natilus, founded in 2016, has announced US$6 billion worth of pre-orders for over 440 of its aircraft.
While the aircraft will be made for autonomous flight, they'll initially operate with oversight from remote pilots, until regulations allow for full autonomy, Natilus said.
Natilus CEO Aleksey Matyushev said moving freight by sea is 13 times cheaper than moving it by air, but takes 50 times as long.
'Natilus intends to revolutionise the transport industry by providing the timeliness of air freight at an affordable cost reduction of 60 per cent, making air cargo transportation substantially more competitive,' he said.
Planes that carry cargo have a 'tube and wing' design, called the fuselage, and wings that provide lift. A 'blended wing body design', on the other hand, merges the wings and the fuselage, meaning the body is much wider and flatter than that of traditional aircraft.
Natilus says its aircraft will improve interior space utilisation even more, as they're designed around cargo and have a diamond-shaped bay that rotates the cargo area 45 degrees.
'From a freight perspective, it makes a lot sense,' said Mr Matyushev. 'It has 50 per cent more volume internally, so it doubles the amount of revenue cargo per flight. With conventional designs you start to run out of volume before you maximize the takeoff weight of the airplane.'
The company plans to make four different aircraft: a 3.8-ton payload short-haul plane, a 60-ton payload medium/long-range plane, and 100- and 130-ton payload long-range planes.
To date, Natilus has completed two wind tunnel tests to validate its aircraft, and is planning for the first flight of a full-scale prototype to take place in 2023.
SeaNews Turkey
Natilus, founded in 2016, has announced US$6 billion worth of pre-orders for over 440 of its aircraft.
While the aircraft will be made for autonomous flight, they'll initially operate with oversight from remote pilots, until regulations allow for full autonomy, Natilus said.
Natilus CEO Aleksey Matyushev said moving freight by sea is 13 times cheaper than moving it by air, but takes 50 times as long.
'Natilus intends to revolutionise the transport industry by providing the timeliness of air freight at an affordable cost reduction of 60 per cent, making air cargo transportation substantially more competitive,' he said.
Planes that carry cargo have a 'tube and wing' design, called the fuselage, and wings that provide lift. A 'blended wing body design', on the other hand, merges the wings and the fuselage, meaning the body is much wider and flatter than that of traditional aircraft.
Natilus says its aircraft will improve interior space utilisation even more, as they're designed around cargo and have a diamond-shaped bay that rotates the cargo area 45 degrees.
'From a freight perspective, it makes a lot sense,' said Mr Matyushev. 'It has 50 per cent more volume internally, so it doubles the amount of revenue cargo per flight. With conventional designs you start to run out of volume before you maximize the takeoff weight of the airplane.'
The company plans to make four different aircraft: a 3.8-ton payload short-haul plane, a 60-ton payload medium/long-range plane, and 100- and 130-ton payload long-range planes.
To date, Natilus has completed two wind tunnel tests to validate its aircraft, and is planning for the first flight of a full-scale prototype to take place in 2023.
SeaNews Turkey
