If we had 10 minutes to spend with Auterion’s CEO, what would we learn?
From the floor of the AUVSI Xponential drone conference in Orlando, Florida, I speak with Lorenz Meier, CEO of Auterion. Auterion is the premier end-to-end operating system for commercial drones, based on open-standards, flexibility and choice. As many know, in 2008 Lorenz created and released the PX4 autonomous drone autopilot to the open source community. He is also the creator of Pixhawk, MAVLink and QGroundControl, today’s most commonly used flight control hardware and autopilot software. Today, Auterion is the leader in open source operating systems.
In this episode of the Drone Radio Show, Lorenz talks about the Auterion ecosystem and the opportunities in the drone industry.
What do investors look for in the UAS Industry?
Vadim Tarasov is founding partner of Advanced Autonomous Solutions Fund, a fund investing in unmanned solutions globally. The fund believes that automation will play a key role in transformation of the largest industries in the next 2-5 years and only a handful of companies will serve as a backbone for such automation. One of those companies is UAVOS, which specializes in the design, development and manufacturing of unmanned vehicles and autopilot systems, as well as components such as servo drives, pan-tilt platforms, rescue/emergency landing systems.
In addition to being a partner at Advanced Autonomous Solutions Fund, Vadim is also Chairman of the Board at UAVOS. He has more than 15 years experience as a board member, investor and executive leader with highly disruptive technology companies.
In this episode of the Drone Radio Show, Vadim talks about Advanced Autonomous Solutions Fund, UAVOS and he provides an investor’s perspective into the UAV market and the future of autonomous operations.
Do Autonomous Drones pose ethical questions?
Jenn Player is Director of Regulatory Affairs at Skydio, the leading American drone manufacturer and world leader in autonomous flight. The company leverages breakthrough AI to create the world’s most intelligent flying machines for use by consumers, enterprises, and government customers. Founded in 2014, Skydio is made up of leading experts in AI, robotics, cameras, and electric vehicles from top companies, research labs, and universities from around the world. Skydio designs, assembles, and supports its products in the U.S. to offer the highest standards of supply chain and manufacturing security. At Skydio, Jenn collaborates with customers, regulators, and standards development organizations to unlock safe and effective autonomous and docked drone operations. Before joining Skydio, Jenn spearheaded an industry-leading regulatory program under the FAA’s Pathfinder Program, capturing a number of breakthrough BVLOS approvals. She has also played a key role supporting other leading industry programs in infrastructure inspection and package delivery.
Autonomous drones offer great promise, but there are also considerations. In many cases it boils down to how innovative decision-making and learning capability should be vested to an autonomous vehicle and for what purpose? In this episode of the Drone Radio Show, Jenn talks about Skydio and the need to consider ethical implications of using autonomous unmanned systems.
How Does Drone Technology Deliver Value?
For that question, we head to Virgina Beach to talk with Tom Walker, founder and CEO of DroneUp. DroneUp is the leading complete drone services provider, transforming businesses and government organizations with drone technology solutions. A short-list of DroneUp’s diverse suite of products includes flight services, data analysis, training and drone delivery
Recognized as a UAS industry pioneer with patented mobile app technology and a commitment to research and development, DroneUp fuels invention and application across private and public sectors. With its people, services, and innovative solutions, the company delivers on operational challenges with efficiency, reliability, and safety.
Tom is a former military officer, and is a recognized pioneer in military and government digital reform. He managed the extensive programming and web enablement of computer systems to support both U.S. and International Special Forces. He has also served as an advisor to the White House on innovative technologies and their impact on the emerging workforce.
In this episode of the Drone Radio Show, Tom talks about DroneUp’s drone delivery service for Walmart and how companies can add value through UAS innovation. We’ll also talk about Xponential 2022 scheduled for April 25-28, where Tom will be delivering a keynote address.
What’s involved in performing validation and testing of BVLOS and Safety protocols?
For that question, we turn to Andy Thurling, Chief Technology Officer of the Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance. NUAIR, as its commonly known, is a New York-based nonprofit with a mission to safely integrate uncrewed aircraft systems into the national airspace, enabling scalable, economically viable commercial drone operations. NUAIR manages operations of the FAA-designated New York UAS Test Site at Griffiss International Airport, Rome, NY on behalf of Oneida County and is responsible for the advancement of New York’s 50-mile UAS Corridor between Rome and Syracuse, NY.
Andy leads technical research on current and future UAS technologies. He also evaluates potential paths to implementation, industry standards for approval by regulators, and test techniques to verify compliance. Prior to NUAIR, Andy was Director of Product Safety and Mission Assurance at AeroVironment where he led airworthiness, certification, and airspace access strategic efforts.In this edition of the Drone Radio Show, Andy talks about NUAIR, the current efforts in testing BVLOS protecols, and validation of safety standards for UAS systems. We also talk about this year’s Xponential 2022 conference in Orlando and why we should all attend.