PIBOT, the world's first humanoid robot pilot, can be used to perform flight charts and emergency procedures using AI.

CTOnews.com, August 21 (Xinhua)-- A research team at the Korea Institute of Advanced Science and Technology has developed the world's first pilot robot. The robot, called PIBOT, is actually more similar to a "manipulator". It can adapt to the traditional aircraft cockpit environment, can automatically control the joystick, toggle the cockpit switch, and can use the built-in AI model to perform flight charts and a series of emergency procedures.

"the biggest advantage of the PIBOT robot is that it can be used in the existing aircraft cockpit, without the need to modify the aircraft cockpit, so it has strong universality and practicality," said David Hyunchul Shim, who leads the PIBOT project by ▲ source EuroNews.

▲ Image Source EuroNews researchers say another advantage of the robot is the combination of ChatGPT technology, which can remember Jepson aeronautical maps from around the world. Not only that, the robot is also quite familiar with the flight industry's Quick reference Manual (QRH), which contains all the programs for "anomalies and emergencies, such as power outages or system failures." So the researchers believe that these capabilities enable PIBOT robots to respond to emergencies faster than human pilots.

However, CTOnews.com noted that PIBOT has not yet conducted actual hardware testing, and officials say the robot has only been tested for "taxiing, taking-off, cruising, cycling and landing" on a flight simulator, and the researchers say they plan to test the robot on a real-life light aircraft soon.

David Hyunchul Shim said the PIBOT robot is expected to enter the commercial stage in 2026. "We hope that in the future, the robot will be able to control vehicles such as cars in addition to aircraft, and achieve the highest efficiency at the lowest cost," he said.