Researchers Develop Humanoid Robot ‘PIBOT’ Capable of Piloting Airplanes

A group of researchers has turned a common dream of those who have watched the movie “Airplane!” into reality: a humanoid robot capable of piloting airplanes.

Known as PIBOT, the robot is designed to sit in existing cockpits and operate them manually. Unlike conventional autopilots installed in aircraft, which lack physical limbs to manipulate flight controls, PIBOT’s advantage lies in its ability to adapt to different cockpits and flight systems without requiring aircraft modification.

The robot learns to fly the plane using natural language processing to read the manual and can display or respond to cockpit conditions using a camera. The team claims that PIBOT has demonstrated its ability to safely control the aircraft even during severe turbulence. They are planning to start commercial sales of the robot in the near future.

Professor David Hyunchul Shim, the project’s research lead, stated in a press release, “We expect them to be applied to various other vehicles such as cars and military trucks, as they can control a wide range of equipment. They will be especially useful in situations where military resources are severely depleted.”