Bell Robot Flies Beyond Line Of Sight

A delivery robot is only valuable if it can do its job far from human supervision. 

The Autonomous Pod Transport, a tilt-body flying machine built by Bell, is a drone meant to get cargo into difficult-to-reach places, without requiring a dedicated human pilot or extensive monitoring. On July 17, Bell announced that the APT had successfully completed a “beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) flight,” which is an essential milestone for the craft.

In December 2017, Bell demonstrated an earlier prototype of the APT to assembled media at its Fort Worth headquarters. Guided by a human pilot with a giant RC-place style controller. That flight showed off the form of the craft. Freed from concerns about the physical limits of an onboard human body, the drone could launch and land on its tail, all four rotors lifting it like a tall quadcopter, before the craft pivoted to more horizontal flight, with wings providing lift.  

Before the APT drone had its beyond-line-of-sight flight, it was already on display at military trade shows in classic dull gray. Cargo is the top-line item that Bell was selling to the assembled military customers, with models at both 20 and 70 pounds internal capacity. But the drone is also designed to serve as a kind of movable communications relay. With the right signals payload inside, it’s made to perch on top of hills to ensure radio and other signals can reach down into valleys and connect troops whose communications would otherwise be cut off by the rocky terrain.

None of this works, really, if the drone cannot autonomously move safely with humans merely monitoring, rather than directing, its progress. Beyond military applications, the drone is aimed at rescue and relief work, provided it can find a buyer and, well, deliver on its promise.

Watch it in action below: