Toronto startup Ribbit tests self-flying planes to move goods and cargo

Toronto-based startup Ribbit is a cargo airline that plans to use self-flying planes to help businesses improve service levels and reach new markets.

The company is testing out its pilotless plane flights to remote communities in Northern Ontario, as shared by Northern Ontario Business.

Earlier this month, the company signed a $1.3 million contract with Transport Canada and Innovative Solutions Canada to begin testing self-flying aircraft in the remote regions. The company is using the Quad Challenger-2 two-seater airplane for its testing.

“Many rural and remote areas are served by larger airplanes that fly infrequently,” said Ribbit CEO Carl Pigeon. “Ribbit takes a smaller aircraft and uses autonomy to drastically change the unit economics of that plane. This lets us offer reliable next-day or two-day service and improve supply chains.”

The company removes the seats from the plane to make it lighter, and increase room for cargo. It then converts the plane from a pilot-controlled one to a self-flying one with the addition of a remote control software and hardware, essentially making it an oversized drone

Carl Pigeon and co-founder Jeremy Wang are both former students of the University of Waterloo, and the idea behind Ribbit began as a university project. “We have been working with government, community, and private partners to ensure this technology will serve a real need. We are excited to enable a future where anybody can ship and receive goods quickly and reliably no matter where they are,” said Wang.

At first, the project will focus on shipping time-sensitive good. Later, it will start using the pilot-less aircrafts for a wide range of cargo operations, asset monitoring, maritime patrol and more.

Learn more about the project here.

Source: Ribbit Via: Northern Ontario Business