Highflyer3
Taking your points in turn:
1. Current automation was designed a minimum of a decade ago based on analyses a decade before that - development is slow. Think how much your brick phone has advanced to a 'smart phone' in that time. The systems analysis was that it was easier for the programmer to drop out of problem solving early and hand the bag of bolts to the pilot - who was only using the FMS as a labor saving device. Anything difficult - automation give up.
Significant advances have been made since then - automation that can fly a very badly damaged aircraft almost as if it were undamaged. AI has increased to a level not thought possible - a computer was given the rules of chess and within hours was beating grandmasters see
https://www.theguardian.com/technolo...lay-four-hours
There may be triplexed computer systems this is quite normal.
2. I would suspect that Company caution would see the freight dogs being automated first possibly as single pilot systems. I can remember when elevators always had an operator. I assure you just like automated trams, trains and cars; automated aircraft will not worry future generations.
3. The autonomous aircraft should appear to everyone else to behave and operate like a manned aircraft following the same rules. There should be no changes just to accommodate the unmanned/unpiloted aircraft. Any aircraft with a remote pilot must be able to operate safely if the link to the remote pilot goes down - so all should be capable of autonomy.
4. See the chess playing robot story above (
https://www.theguardian.com/technolo...lay-four-hours ) AI has changed a lot in the last 18 months; its rate of change and advance is faster than you would believe.
5. Certification will be an issue particularly where the certification tests were set up for human flown systems. This is going to be a complicated area not because of the length of time for testing individual aircraft but the time required for international (RTCA/EASA) agreement on what those tests should be. This work is already starting.
6. True as some did for glass cockpits and look where it got them. The reason I started this thread was to get the pilots here thinking about what WILL happen in the future. Just saying "No! not in my lifetime!" is not an option. There will be a requirement for pilots for decades to come - but do not think that UAS will not be sharing the airspace with you - they already are.