Startup will test self-flying aircraft in remote areas of Canada

A Canadian air cargo startup called Ribbit is planning to test pilotless flights for deliveries in remote areas of the country. Northern Ontario Businesses Reported. The company signed a $1.3 million contract with Transport Canada and Innovative Solutions Canada to begin autonomous test flights “over the next 12 months”.

CEO Carl Pidgeon said in a press release earlier this month, “Many rural and remote areas served by large airplanes are rarely flown.” “Ribbit takes a small aircraft and uses autonomy to fundamentally change the unit economics of that aircraft. This gives us the flexibility to provide reliable service in the next day or two and improve the supply chain.”

The company is starting small with a two-passenger recreational-style aircraft. Its plan is to remove the seats to open up space for cargo, then use remote control software and hardware to make the plane fully autonomous. The idea began as a project by students at the University of Waterloo, including co-founders Jeremy Wang and Carl Pidgeon. Ribbit said its aircraft will use remote pilots to monitor progress, communicate with air traffic controllers and generally provide backup.

The company has already signed contracts with retailers and wholesalers including locally owned businesses serving the province. It aims to meet the demand for timely delivery of food, medical items and more. “The goal is really to try to improve that transportation link so that we can get food and other perishables, time-sensitive items, medical supplies, etc. to the end consumer more reliably and more frequently in these communities at a lower cost Wang told Northern Ontario Businesses,

There are already several competitors in this area, most notably Xwing, which has already operated autonomous gate-to-gate commercial cargo flights. That company is using much larger aircraft, namely Cessna Grand Caravan 208B utility aircraft equipped with Xwing’s AutoFlight software. Another competitor in this area is Reliable Robotics (founded by former SpaceX and Tesla engineers), which has also run successful remotely operated cargo tests.

Ribbit is smaller than those players, but it knows its customers and the sector very well. “Whether it is air cargo, asset monitoring or maritime patrolling, we have identified many applications for the technology,” Wang said. “Clients appreciate our ability to deeply understand their operations – then re-imagine them with autonomy.”