Nasa has developed a new pod designed to assist operators of autonomous aircraft.

In April 2024, NASA attached the Airborne Instrumentation for Real-world Video of Urban Environments (AIRVUE) sensor pod to the base of a NASA helicopter at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, for a flight test. The AIRVUE pod is designed to collect data for autonomous aircraft such as air taxis, drones, and other Advanced Air Mobility vehicles. To ensure that self-flying aircraft can safely navigate their environments and avoid hazards, NASA researchers have developed this camera pod with advanced sensors to enhance computer vision for autonomous aviation. The AIRVUE pod was created at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, and its initial testing involved flying it on a piloted helicopter.