A Flight Laboratory for AI Data-Driven Development of Aircraft Autonomy

We describe the Wayfinder Flight Laboratory to supportdata-driven development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology for aircraft autonomy. The Flight Laboratory servesas a hardware and software platform for data collection andin-the-loop testing of embedded flight functions. The crucialfuel for AI development is data of sufficient volume, diversity,and quality. Also, for safety-critical, embedded real-time systems, real-world testing is essential. The Flight Laboratory isdesigned to fufill both of these requirements while also minimizing operational cost and providing an agile and flexibleplatform for AI development in aviation.