To drive collaboration with the new administration, the whitepaper offers near-term steps to continue advanced automation's role in enhancing aviation safety

Merlin, the leading developer of safe, autonomous flight technology for fixed-wing aircraft, today released a whitepaper, Innovate to Elevate; Automation’s Role in the Ongoing Evolution of Aviation Safety, that explores how automation can drive the aviation industry toward a safer future. Released as new Trump administration officials and congressional staff seek insight into key industry priorities, the paper highlights critical safety challenges within the aviation ecosystem and proposes solutions through the integration of advanced automation and the expertise of human pilots.

“While automation has long played a role in aviation, its untapped potential offers new opportunities to address the evolving safety and performance needs of the industry. The human brain is unparalleled and has remained the cornerstone of safe flight operations, but we envision a future where pilots and advanced automation form an even more advanced partnership—extending human capabilities with technology,” said Matt George, CEO and founder, Merlin.

The objective of the whitepaper is to extend the dialogue with policymakers, regulators, and other industry stakeholders about how automation can better complement human expertise in commercial transport aircraft and increase safety in the near-term. As an industry technology partner at the forefront of enhancing aviation safety, Merlin outlines three key topic areas that pose ongoing aviation safety challenges, and offers near-term recommendations to drive the integration of automation technologies and further enhance safety.

• Clearer Radio Communications: Natural Language Processing (NLP) technology can improve communication and coordination between pilots and air traffic controllers, reducing readback errors and miscommunications.
• Crew Fatigue: Passive consumer wearables can lend insights into the relationship between stress, workload, and fatigue, leading to more robust fatigue mitigation tools.
• Workload Management: A renewed focus on human-machine teaming can better inform automation systems design, ensuring that operators are neither task-saturated nor disengaged.

“New administrations mark new opportunities for collaboration and progress, and Merlin––a company developing solutions for both civil and military aviation applications––is in a unique position to pave the way for higher levels of automation using a pragmatic approach that is grounded in proven safety practices. This whitepaper supports our intent to continue our ongoing collaboration with key industry stakeholders––pilots, the United States Air Force, regulators, and more––to help inform a safer future for the industry at large,” continued George.

For more information and to download the whitepaper, visit: https://merlinlabs.com/innovate-to-elevate

About Merlin

Merlin is a venture-backed aerospace startup building a non-human pilot to enable both reduced crew and uncrewed flight. Backed by some of the world’s leading investors, Merlin is scaling alongside our customers to begin leveraging autonomy today to solve some of aviation’s biggest challenges. To learn more, visit www.merlinlabs.com or follow us on X @merlinaero.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250127907836/en/