What’s Better Than Two Men on A High Scaffold?

Andrew Ashur is Founder and CEO of Lucid Drone Technologies, a North Carolina based company that builds industrial spraying drones for labor intensive tasks.  The company’s goal is simple – provide customers with a safer, faster and smarter alternative to traditional spraying methods while reducing costs and adding top-line revenue.

Lucid began in 2018 with the vision of retrofitting existing off-the-shelf drones to handle exterior soft-washing. After a significant investment of time and money, the founders learned that the drone they needed was unavailable in the marketplace. The right product and support required to be successful had to be designed and built from the ground up.  That’s where Lucid excels.

Andrew manages the overall operations of Lucid, including product development, strategic partnerships, and investor relations. He is a prolific learner with a demonstrated track record for extreme productivity. Andrew graduated with a double major from Davidson College in just three years, while founding Lucid.

In this episode of the Drone Radio Show, Andrew talks about Lucid Drone Technologies, it’s revolutionary C1 Cleaning Drone and how it is disrupting the industrial cleaning industry by providing a solution that is much faster and safer than traditional cleaning methods.

Can Drones Move Mountains?

Well maybe not on their own, but they can make easier for earthwork companies to do their job.  Richard Hordern-Gibbings is Director of Partnerships at Propeller.  Propeller is a global leader in 3D mapping and data analytics solutions.  The Australian company was founded in 2014 by Rory San Miguel & Francis Vierboom and creates tools and software for construction companies, mines, quarries, and landfills to collect, process, and visualize accurate survey data. Some of the world’s leading heavy civil and resources operations trust Propeller to answer critical questions about their site’s progress, productivity, work quality, and safety. 

At Propellor, Richard works with a variety of drone partners worldwide.  He’s been with the company for more than 8 years and has many insights into the use of drones in the heavy construction industry.

In this episode of the Drone Radio Show, Richard talks about Propellor, the use of drones in the earthworks industry and how Propellor is leading efforts to help these companies find greater efficiencies and ROI. 

Can Drones Really Foster Economic Development?

Tom Swoyer is President of the Grand Sky Development Company.  Grand Sky is the first and only fully operational commercial UAS research and development park in the United States. Strategically located on the Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota, Grand Sky is the hub of activities in the nation’s leading state for UAS flight testing, training and development. Since 2015, Grand Sky has been the site of continuous UAS industry advancements and milestones.  Not only that, the investments in UAS at Grand Sky are now producing dividends in terms of new private development, jobs and tax revenues. 

In addition to being President of Grand Sky, Tom is also the Founder.  He developed the master plan fpr the design, construction, and operation of the infrastructure and facilities for Grand Sky.  He has also worked alongside a litany of key stakeholders and partners including the Air Force, the State of North Dakota, Congressional Delegations and Grand Forks County in making Grand Sky a success.

In this episode of the Drone Radio Show, Tom talks about Grand Sky, its UAS mission and vision and how the investments that have been made are yielding jobs, development and increasing the tax base.  Thus proving UAS can provide community wide benefits.

How Do We Lead-the-Ship Through the Fast-Changing UAV Landscape?

Ian Foley is CEO of Pacific Triangle, a drone service provider delivering integrated platforms and end-to-end solutions for commercial applications in geospatial, oil and gas, mining and electrical utility industries.

Ian has demonstrated the ability to form resilient and high-performing teams and to empower workforce intelligence across many projects.

Throughout his UAS career, Ian has worked on projects for 3 major Californian and one Texas utility company, and has performed bridge inspections in Georgia, Oklahoma, and Saskatchewan, Canada.  He has completed cell tower inspections in California, staffed helicopter LiDAR, and has upcoming underwater ROV work.

Part 107 certified, Ian has worked his way up the ladder in the UAS industry starting as Visual Observer, then Pilot in Command, Team Leader, and Project Manager, before starting his own business with Pacific Triangle in Carlsbad, CA.  Ian’s experience in the field is an invaluable in directing the efforts of Pacific Triangle. 

He is a graduate of the Veterans Institute for Procurement START and INTERNATIONAL programs in Potomac, MD arguably the top training programs for C-level executives of Veteran-Owned Small Businesses.

In this episode of the Drone Radio Show, Ian talks about Pacific Triangle, the drone service provider industry and the challenges and opportunities of starting and leading a new company.  He also provides some insights into his panel presentation at this year’s Commercial UAV Expo on September 6-8, where he’ll be speaking on how to lead-the-ship through the fast-changing UAV landscape.