Joby Aviation, a developer of electric vertical takeoff and landing air taxis, has acquired the autonomy division of Xwing, a provider of autonomous flight systems for aviation and defense applications.
The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed and Joby Aviation said Tuesday the acquired business has expertise in perception technology, system integration and certification that will complement its fully autonomous and near-term piloted operations.
Xwing brings a team of engineers, researchers and technologists to help Joby Aviation develop a road map for automation and autonomy and pursue technology-focused partnerships with the Department of Defense.
Established in 2016, Xwing has completed 250 fully autonomous flights and more than 500 auto-landings and is the first company to receive an official project designation from the Federal Aviation Administration for the certification of a large unmanned aerial system.
“The exceptionally talented Xwing team has not only made unparalleled progress on the development and certification of vision systems, sensor fusion and decision-making autonomous technologies, but they’ve also successfully demonstrated the real-life application of their technology, flying hundreds of fully autonomous flights in the national airspace,” said JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby Aviation.
