NASA has teamed up with a company called Autonomy Association International (AAI) to build a “data fabric” — a kind of digital web of interconnected data sources — for autonomous aircraft and air taxis. This system, developed under NASA’s Data & Reasoning Fabric (DRF) project, allows flying vehicles to receive real-time, context-sensitive data from many providers, including local governments and airspace authorities.
During test flights over Arizona, the technology was put through its paces: a helicopter (standing in for a drone or air taxi) received live data and algorithmic instructions while flying over different terrains — from tribal lands to airports. The goal was to simulate how future autonomous aircraft could pick up routing, weather, and operational commands in real-time.
The “fabric” concept isn’t just about data — it also includes reasoning services that run AI models to interpret that data and help the aircraft make decisions. These services can run at the edge (closer to the aircraft), enabling low-latency responses for things like route planning, health monitoring, and collision risk assessment.
Beyond aviation, AAI is already using this NASA-originated technology in other sectors like agriculture, real estate, and food production. Their commercial platform lets different agents retrieve AI programs with minimal human intervention — a model that stems directly from the lessons learned in NASA’s flight tests.
