In late 2019, after years of studying aviation and aerospace engineering, Hector (Haofeng) Xu decided to learn to fly helicopters. At the time, he was pursuing his PhD in MIT’s Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, so he was familiar with the risks associated with flying small aircraft.

Inspired by his experiences in the cockpit, Xu founded Rotor Technologies, Inc. in 2021 to make helicopter flight safer, as many fatalities occur during helicopter flights for activities like crop dusting, fighting fires, and medical evacuations.

Rotor is retrofitting existing helicopters with a suite of sensors and software to remove the pilot from some of the most dangerous flights and expand use cases for aviation. By targeting the most dangerous missions, Rotor aims to prevent accidents that could be prevented with automation.

Rotor’s autonomous helicopters offer advantages over battery powered drones, such as faster speed, longer flight duration, and heavier payload capacity. The company is focused on autonomy and aims to make vertical flight safer and more accessible.

With a team consisting of MIT affiliates and partnerships with organizations like the MIT Venture Mentoring Service, Rotor has leveraged the expertise and resources available to quickly commercialize its autonomous aircraft.

Rotor’s technology builds on a well-known aircraft model from the Robinson Helicopter Company, allowing the company to utilize existing supply chains and gain customer trust.

Rotor’s solution includes a “fly by wire” system, advanced communication tools, and sensors adapted from the autonomous vehicle industry.

The company envisions a future with no pilots in the cockpit and is building robust autonomous systems while retaining human expertise for decision-making and unexpected scenarios.

Rotor’s autonomous helicopters offer a new aircraft that can perform tasks without a pilot and enable new scientific missions. The company plans to sell a small number of aircraft this year and scale production in the future.

Xu’s vision for Rotor goes beyond safety and aims to change daily lives by providing safer, more autonomous, and affordable vertical take-off and landing aircraft.