Boeing to establish new aerospace & autonomy centre

Under the agreement, Boeing will lease 100’000 square feet of research and lab space inside a new 17-floor building. The new centre will house employees from Boeing and subsidiary Aurora Flight Sciences, who will focus on designing, building and flying autonomous aircraft and developing enabling technologies. The investment in the new centre follows the recent creation of Boeing NeXt. This new organisation unites researchers and projects across the company to “shape the future of travel and transport” as Boing puts it in a press release. This includes the development of a next-generation airspace management system to enable the safe coexistence of piloted and autonomous vehicles. Employees at the centre will help develop new technologies in support of Boeing NeXt programs. "Boeing is leading the development of new autonomous vehicles and future transportation systems that will bring flight closer to home," said Greg Hyslop, Boeing chief technology officer. "By investing in this new research facility, we are creating a hub where our engineers can collaborate with other Boeing engineers and research partners around the world and leverage the Cambridge innovation ecosystem." Employees from Aurora Flight Sciences' existing research and development centre in Kendall Square will move into the new centre and operate it on behalf of Boeing once complete.