Global Courant
A Canadian startup has been awarded a one-year contract with the federal government to deliver cargo to remote areas of Canada using a self-flying aircraft.
Ribbit, an autonomous aircraft service company founded in 2020, and the federal government have agreed a one-year, $1.3 million contract to test the airline’s self-flying technology.
Jeremy Wang, chief operating officer of Ribbit and a graduate of University of Waterloosays the airline uses a conventional fixed-wing aircraft that has been retrofitted with software and hardware so it can fly completely autonomously.
“You can think of it as a really advanced autopilot, so from gate to gate the plane does everything itself,” he told CTV’s Your Morning on Tuesday.
This includes taxi, takeoff and landing, Wang said. Its co-founder, Carl Pigeon, told CTV News Kitchener in May that the company had been given permission to fly without a pilot on board at a test track in Alberta.
The goal, says Wang, is to make transportation more accessible and reliable for everyone.
“So with small, autonomous aircraft flying frequently and doing it in a really cost-effective way, we hope to make a difference to these communities for things like food, medicine and other time-sensitive necessities,” he said.
Public records show that Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada awarded a one-year contract worth more than $1.3 million to Ribbit on May 18.
A spokesperson for Transport Canada told CTVNews.ca Thursday in an email that the contract is called via a program Innovative Solutions Canada (ISC), described as helping Canadian startups and small or medium-sized businesses “develop their innovations to drive technology research, development and commercialization of Canadian innovations.”
“The contract will allow Ribbit to test and demonstrate the capabilities of their unmanned cargo aircraft system,” the spokesman said. “Transport Canada is participating in reviewing the results of these tests as a support department of the ISC program to inform department knowledge of the company’s proposed technology.”
The company also announced in a press release on Thursday further details of his contract with the federal government.
Ribbit says it will provide Transport Canada with a single aircraft for a year, as well as remote crewing and maintenance services for autonomous cargo flights.
Ribbit’s press release says it has completed more than 200 hours of “hands-free flight” on a two-seater aircraft and will receive a Special Flight Operations Certificate in 2022 that will allow unmanned flight testing.
The company also says it has received letters of intent from “leading retailers” worth $42 million a year.
Ribbit will try to demonstrate that its technology is safe and works in a northern environment, Wang said, with data from these flights used to guide future policies and regulations.
Wang also sees opportunities for this technology in other remote regions of the world, including Alaska, Central Australia, areas of continental Africa and island nations, with the long-term goal of carrying passengers.
Watch the full interview with Jeremy Wang at the top of the article. With files from CTV News Kitchener Videographer Krista Sharpe.
