It can be hard not to be a little overwhelmed when visiting the Airbus campus in Toulouse.
This location is massive, housing 28,000 workers as well as numerous tourists who flock to witness the construction of the aircrafts.
A colossal Beluga freighter is stationed at a loading bay, primed to fly vehicles and satellites around the globe.
Nearly our interview location is the hangar in which the Concorde, a supersonic passenger jet, was created.
This location is the site of a great deal of Airbus research and development, among them the recently completed Project Dragonfly - an experiment intended to expand the capabilities of the autopilot.
In the last half-century, automation in the aviation industry has hugely changed the job of pilots. Nowadays, they are given more help from technology in the cockpit.
Project Dragonfly, which was carried out on an Airbus A350-1000, pushed the plane's autonomy to an even greater level.
The project was centred on three areas: enhanced automatic touchdown, taxi aid and automated emergency diversion.
The most dramatic may be the last.
Malcolm Ridley, Airbus's Chief Test Pilot for commercial planes, calmed any worries by assuring us that the probability of being in an air crash is "nearly nonexistent".
In order to prepare for any situation, Project Dragonfly conducted experiments to develop an automated system of emergency descent for aircraft and its crew.
This technology is designed to take control if the pilots have to make difficult decisions or become incapacitated.
The plane is able to autonomously descend and land, whilst being aware of other aircraft, the weather, and the ground below.
The system permits the aircraft to converse with air traffic control over the airwaves employing a computer-generated voice which is produced through the application of artificial intelligence.
The plane's systems are confronted with a great deal.
Miguel Mendes Dias, an Automated Emergency Operations Designer, remarks that a challenge was to instruct the system to comprehend all the data and generate an answer.
The airplane has to be able to autonomously obtain all data. Hence, it has to be attentive to air traffic management broadcasts from the airport."
The aircraft must be able to retrieve all information independently, thus requiring that it be attentive to communications from air traffic control at the airport.
He stated that the most fitting airport would have to be selected for diversion.
The project named Dragonfly was successful in carrying out two emergency descents.
French air traffic controllers comprehended the situation completely during the test flights, and the plane arrived safely.
Mr Mendes declared it to be an incredible accomplishment.
Fortunately, the majority of landings are far less intense, and Project Dragonfly also studied the kind of landings more commonly experienced.
Most major airdromes are equipped with technology which gives directions to the aircraft for touching down on the strip, referred to as precision approach.
However, not all airports possess such technology, leading Airbus to investigate other means of landing.
Investigation of how various sensors could be used in order to facilitate an automated landing of an aircraft was undertaken by Project Dragonfly.
A combination of ordinary cameras, infrared, and radar technology was utilized.
The team collected data from numerous locations globally, thereby allowing all kinds of climate to be simulated.
In addition to providing the aircraft with more data, the additional sensors afford the pilot additional clarity when assessing the landing.
For instance, infrared cameras are advantageous in cloudy weather because they can detect more heat the nearer an object is.
Nuria Torres Mataboch, a computer vision engineer on the Dragonfly project, states that the tech "will give the pilot assurance that he's on the correct course to the runway."
Examining taxiing was part of Project Dragonfly. Though it may appear to be an uncomplicated process, it is often the most difficult aspect of piloting, particularly at the world's most trafficked airports.
The pilot was the one in command of the aircraft.
The crew was given audio alerts via technology. When the aircraft encountered any obstacles, it gave an alert and guided the pilots in terms of speed and path to the runaway.
Mr Ridley stated that their aim was to find something that would help to alleviate the pilots' duties during taxiing.
Pilots have varying opinions concerning developments in technology; some are hesitant about having the technology advanced too quickly.
Tony Lucas, president of the Australian and International Pilots Association, commented that pilots are not necessarily happy with having computers be the conclusive determinant of whether a flight lands or not.
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He is unconvinced that autonomous aircraft could handle complicated circumstances that may arise.
He stated that automation cannot substitute the decision-making of two skilled and well-rested pilots in the cockpit, from his place of work at Sydney airport.
Mr Lucas utilized the Boeing 737 Max for instance, in which an automated system resulted in two disasters in 2018 and 2019.
Airbus emphasizes that they will only implement further automation when it is safe to do so, and that their aim is not to replace pilots in the cockpit.
Might passenger planes eventually be devoid of pilots?
Mr Ridley asserted that, for the purpose of safeguarding passengers and crew, it would only be appropriate to move to using fully automated aircraft if there was a clear and definite assurance that it was the safest route.
Further information about this topic can be found on BBC Click.
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