Boeing Co said on Thursday it invested in Near Earth Autonomy, a Pittsburgh-based firm that develops technologies enabling autonomous flight such as drones. In addition to the undisclosed investment, Boeing said the two companies will also explore products and applications for emerging markets such as urban mobility. It was the first investment in autonomous technologies by Boeing's venture capital arm, Boeing HorizonX, since it was established in April of this year, Boeing said. Near Earth Autonomy, a spin-off from the Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute, develops technologies including sensor suites, three dimensional mapping and survey, and collision detection and avoidance that enables aircraft to operate autonomously. Near Earth Autonomy, a spin-off from the Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute, develops technologies including sensor suites, three dimensional mapping and survey, and collision detection and avoidance that enables aircraft to operate autonomously. Just some of the firm's core technologies include: Sensor suites: Near Earth sensor packages perceive the world in 3D, enabling mapping and surveying for piloted and autonomous aircraft.

Before you can zip about in a flying car, engineers must solve more than a few problems. Oddly, figuring out how to make a flying car fly isn't among them. The basics of flight were sorted out more than 100 years ago. No, the big challenge lies in making these things fly themselves so you don't have to go through the hassle of earning a pilot's license. "Takeoff is fairly scripted," says Sanjiv Signh, the CEO of Near Earth Autonomy.