Honeywell has unveiled a new compact “fly-by-wire” system for autonomous and Urban Air Mobility vehicles.

According to Honeywell, the flight control computer, which packs the “brains” of an airliner's flight controls into one system, adds stability to the designs of autonomous and Urban Air Mobility vehicles, by driving electric actuators and dynamically adjusting flight surfaces and motors for smoothly following flight paths.

The computer, which also reduces turbulence, allows designers to push the limits of aerodynamics, ultimately eliminating the need for heavy hydraulics, control cables or pushrods.

“Honeywell's technology truly enables these innovative aircraft to fly more safely, accelerating a whole new era in what is quickly emerging as a new transportation economy,” says Carl Esposito, president, Electronic Solutions, Honeywell Aerospace.

The flight control computer is equipped with architectural features derived from Honeywell's existing compact fly-by-wire systems for airplanes. It is built to meet aviation industry certification standards, and provides the highest levels of availability and integrity, the company says. 

Honeywell's offering includes a triplex flight control computer architecture, which provides several backup options, and eliminates the risk of relying on one system failure. Additionally, each computer uses lockstep processing, which means it has two processing channels that constantly check each other's work.

Honeywell says that these features provide the “safest and most reliable operation” that will meet the future requirements of transporting passengers in highly populated urban areas. 

The system is dubbed a compact fly-by-wire system because the controls are augmented by electronics versus purely manual controls. The new compact computer can be held in one hand, which is a far cry from similar technologies installed on larger aircraft that are roughly the size and weight of a fully loaded suitcase.

Honeywell touts the advantages of its system over other technologies, including drawing less power, costing a fraction of current systems, and the ability to be used on multiple aircraft types, including more traditional aircraft vehicle designs.

“Aircraft designers can use the compact flight control computer out of the box with easy-to-use development tools,” Esposito says. “It was designed for connectivity to achieve better maintenance and improved fleet operations.”

Honeywell plans to demonstrate the new system during Uber Elevate Summit in Washington, D.C., from June 11 to June 12.