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Drone Radio Show

The Drone Radio Show is a weekly podcast about drones and the people who use them for business, fun and research. Our guests share how they’re using drones to make a positive impact, build a business, lessons they’ve learned and insights that you can use to take YOUR interest in drones to the next level.
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Now displaying: Category: Technology
May 2, 2023

Are digital twins about to change the way we see the world?

 

Nilson Kufus is CEO and Co-Founder of Zurich-based Nokomo.  Nomoko creates digital twins that can be implemented for everything from urban planning to music festival security. The company  is on a mission to make the physical world accessible as a digital ecosystem using Digital Twins. With a focus on real estate, Nomoko strives to create virtual copies of individual buildings, larger districts, or even whole municipalities. This helps customers to visualize their projects and to gain informed insights in order to make the right decision at any time.

Nilson has a degree in Liberal Arts & Sciences from the University College Maastricht, where he built his curriculum around business, artificial intelligence, and media. He has been a Digital Shaper of Switzerland 2019, a TedX Salon speaker, and Guest lecturer at ETH Zürich & FH HWZ.

In this episode of the Drone Radio Show, Nilson talks about Nomoko, the company’s quest to build a digital twin of the world and how digital twins will revolutionize the way we see and interact with the world.

Dec 27, 2022

What’s it take to build the most efficient and reliable UAS propulsion system?

Jon Broome is CEO and co-founder of Vertiq, a manufacturer of ultra compact, high performance servo motors for drone propulsion. Combining a unique hardware design and proprietary motor calibration and control software, Vertiq optimizes motor performance and controllability.   As a result, Vertiq’s products significantly increase the effectiveness of commercial and defense drones.

UAS vehicles using Vertiq technology fly 10% longer, maneuver and stabilize 4x faster, experience 75% fewer critical failures, and have access to unique propeller positioning capabilities.

Jon started the Vertiq with his co-founder Matt Piccoli in 2017, and since then, they’ve been working to bring industrial-grade motors and motor controllers to the drone market. Jon graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Middlebury College in 2016. During his time at Middlebury, Jon founded his first company, which made high protein snacks for gym-goers and athletes at the college. 

Jon wished to continue his entrepreneurial career after graduation, and he quickly found his next venture when he attended his cousin (and future Co-Founder) Matt Piccoli’s PhD thesis defense, which focused on building unique aerial vehicles using advanced motor control techniques. Matt wanted to start a propulsion company based on his research and needed a co-founder to handle the non-engineering side of the business. Jon assumed the role of CEO and now, he is responsible for all of Vertiq’s business development efforts, investor relations, and company strategy, among many other duties.

In this episode of the Drone Radio Show, Jon talks about Vertiq, it’s revolutionary propulsion systems and how such systems are changing the drone industry. 

Nov 29, 2022

What are the current trends in UAS parachute recovery systems?

For that question, we head to Monte Sereno, California to speak with Gene Engelgau, CEO and Founder of Fruity Chutes.  Fruity Chutes manufactures premium quality parachutes for aerospace, corporate, institutional, university and consumer customers. Since 2007, Fruity Chutes parachutes have established a reputable history for dependable performance in unmanned applications

In addition to producing parachute recovery systems, the company provides drone manufacturers with free technical support for full recovery system integration.  It also assists manufacturers with obtaining certifications and waivers relating to FAA and ASTM standards as well as other national and international regulations. Since founding Fruity Chutes in 2007, the company has established itself as the leading provider to the UAS industry of a broad range of parachute recovery products optimized for light weight at a high strength capacity.  Fruity Chutes is the first UAS recovery company to have a customer using their parachutes obtain an Operations Over People Waiver, an Operations over Moving Vehicles Waiver, and FAA Type Certification. 

Gene has been part of the Silicon Valley tech industry since the late 70s.  He has founded several tech start-ups both in the early Internet e-commerce space as well as the hobby radio control industries.  He has experience in electronics hardware design, embedded systems, enterprise software, and web systems design and databases.

Gene has always had a passion for aeromodelling. He’s flown RC aircraft and rockets for 40 years.  In the mid-80s, Gene helped found CSys Labs Inc., a company that designed and manufactured one of the first all computer controlled RC airplane controllers and was sold under the Airtronics/Sanwa brand.

Gene has two daughters that hold key roles in the company. Janice Engelgau is the Lead Communications Specialist of Fruity Chutes with nearly a decade of experience working in the UAS industry. Developing methods to better educate the industry on parachute recovery has been the main pillar of her work with Fruity Chutes. Her goal is to help as many UAS professionals as possible understand the profound benefits of parachute recovery and successfully implement recovery into their systems.

Jayne Engelgau is the Head of Content and Web Development at Fruity Chutes. She integrates her inquisitive mind for drone applications with her experience in visual design, written media, and web development. She is committed to educating the UAS industry on the vital roles of safety technologies, parachute recovery system implementation, standardization, as well as pre-, post-, and in-flight PRS protocol. Upholding a lifelong belief that educational knowledge should be accessible, she popularizes and enlivens topics of UAS recovery in bright, “fruity” colors across a variety of communicative modes.

In Episode 171 recorded in 2018, I interviewed Gene and Jan as they introduced us to Fruity Chutes. In this episode of the Drone Radio Show, Gene, Jan and Jayne discuss about how changes in the drone industry in the past 3 years affect the design and use of parachute recovery systems

Oct 11, 2022

Is there a way to make drones lighter, stronger and more scalable without sacrificing safety and integrity?

Jeremy Smith is the Business Development Manager at Alpine Advanced Materials, a leader in the design and manufacture of custom-engineered parts and products for the world’s most demanding aerospace, defense and space applications. The company commercializes high-performance materials originally developed and qualified by top defense contractors, including its flagship HX5® military aviation-grade nanocomposite. 

Engineered to replace machined aluminum, HX5 is half the weight and has been both tested and proven against the harshest environments in the world. HX5 is currently in use on jet fighters, high-speed helicopters, amphibious transport vehicles, rockets, and satellites.  It is highly adaptable without sacrificing strength or performance. Its customization and manufacturability here in the U.S. combined with its high tolerance and dimensional stability make it an ideal alternative to the cost and production challenges associated with aluminum.  That makes HX5 ideal for use in the unmanned aerial industry. 

At Alpine Advanced Materials, Jeremy works in the OEM and UAV markets. Previously, He served as a Sales Engineer for Franklin Products, which specializes in aircraft seating comfort and covers. He spent the past several years focused on aviation ergonomics working with airliners and interior OEMs to optimize customer in-flight comfort.  Over his career, Jeremy has specialized in the custom material markets for aviation, holding active roles in the design, sales, production and management of metal parts and their functional systems. He has served aviation, defense, energy and heavy manufacturing industries.

In this episode of the Drone Radio show, Jeremy talks about Alpine Advanced Materials, its aviation grade nano-composite and how it can help make stronger, lighter and more scalable drones.

Aug 30, 2022

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.

May 3, 2022

Is a perpetual flying drone possible?

Fatema Hamdani is Co-Founder/CEO of Kraus Hamdani Aerospace, a San Francisco based leader in ultra long endurance unmanned aerial systems. Founded in 2016, the company has created its flagship product, the K1000ULE, a zero emissions drone flying longer than any other electric aircraft in its category. 

Having recently broken the world record for an electric drone in its size and weight category, the K1000ULE can travel longer distances, stay in flight longer and at higher altitudes, making them ideal for jobs that are risky for humans, such as disaster relief efforts, search and recovery, military intelligence and reconnaissance, wildlife anti-poaching operations, and even human trafficking prevention.  

Fatema’s experience spans across the aerospace, financial services, life science, telecom, travel, and retail domains. Under her leadership, the company is reinventing ultra-long endurance UAS using artificial intelligence, machine learning, and biomimicry to create drones that can stay aloft almost infinitely. 

In this edition of the Drone Radio Show, Fatema talks about Kraus Hamdani Aerospace, the K1000ULE and the company’s plans for the future. 

Mar 8, 2022

What’s the latest in UAS Flight Controllers?

Kirill Shilov is Founder and CEO of Sky-Drones Technologies.  Sky-Drones creates professional full stack UAV avionics solutions, such as flight control, ground control and communication systems as well as a cloud based management platform. The company helps its global customers build and operate drones for security and commercial applications. The company has an outstanding background in research and development, as well as manufacturing and delivering products and solutions for the future UAV market.

With a Masters in Aerospace Engineering, Kirill majored in Flight Dynamics and Control. His professional areas of interest include flight control systems, unmanned aerial vehicles, autopilot systems, electronics, software and embedded programming.  Before starting Sky-Drones Technologies he worked as an engineer at ACSL in Tokyo and Perspective Robotics in Zurich.

In this edition of the Drone Radio Show, Kirill talks about Sky-Drones Technologies, the company’s flight control systems and how the technology is supporting enterprise clients across the globe. 

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