Fighting Sea Level Rise With Drones

Dania Montenegro is the Project Coordinator for Flying Labs of Latin America, based in Panama.  The goal of Flying Labs is to accelerate the positive impact of local aid, health, development and environmental solutions locally.  Flying Labs expand local markets by creating new jobs and businesses that offer robotics as a service and support local ecosystems.  There are 24 Flying Labs located in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The Labs are franchised by WeRobotics to enable local changemakers who want to build robotics and AI capacity in their countries.

Off the coast of Panama lies a tiny island called Carti Sugdub. This island, home to more than 1,000 people, is threatened by sea level rise and climate change, so much so, that in partnership with the Government of Panama, the entire community is making plans to relocate to forty acres on the mainland.  Flying Labs has been ask to help in the relocation by helping to document and preserve the culture and community design.  Using drones, Flying Labs is creating a digital footprint that will guide redevelopment of the community in it new location. In this episode of the Drone Radio Show, Dania talks about Flying Labs Panama and how drones are helping the residents of Carti Sugdub mitigate the impacts of climate change and sea level rise.  Joining Dania later in the podcast is Joseph Mulihausen, Head of Drone & Data Systems at WeRobotics.

One Company's Path To BVLOS

Rob Knochenhauer is Head of UAS Regulatory & Operations at Green Sight.  Green Sight provides autonomous aerial data collection hardware and data analysis software tools t o support a wide variety of industries and applications. 

At Green Sight, Rob leads the development of the UAS operational scheme wherein unmanned aircraft are run at customer locations with a 107 certificated remote pilot on site who maintains visual line of sight with the drone while it flies. While the drone is flying, the operation is overwatched by another 107 certificated Remote Pilot in Green Sight’s Boston office. This is all part of Green Sight’s goal to eventually run unattended drone operations in the future. 

In this edition of the drone radio show, Rob talks about Green Sight, the BVLOS waiver process and what companies need to know to prepare for fully autonomous operations.

Can a Smart City Make Flying Drones Easier and Safer?

Eben Frankenberg is CEO and Co-founder of Echodyne Corp. Echodyne is a 5-year old company that makes revolutionary compact radar sensors for a range of applications for commercial, defense, and government customers. Their high-performance radars combine patented technology and powerful, intelligent software to achieve maximum radar performance. Echodyne radars are used the Autonomous Vehicle, Perimeter and Border Security, Security Integrator, Airspace Management, UAS Service Suppliers, and commercial Unmanned Aircraft Systems industries.

Eben  has over 20 years of experience starting and growing technology companies.  Prior to founding Echodyne, Eben was an Entrepreneur in Residence at Intellectual Ventures (IV) where he created and incubated new companies including: Echodyne Corp and several other leading startups.  In this edition of the drone radio show, Eben talks about how smart cities data networks could play a role in supporting unmanned air flight operations in urban environments.

Dealing With State & Local Property Rights

Brent Skorup is a Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.  The Mercatus Center at George Mason University is the world’s premier university source for market-oriented ideas—bridging the gap between academic ideas and real-world problems. The Center advances knowledge about how markets work to improve people’s lives by training graduate students, conducting research, and applying economics to offer solutions to society’s most pressing problems.  In addition to his role as senior research fellow, Brent is also a member of the Texas Department of Transportation’s Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Task Force. He has authored several articles for National Affairs, Reuters, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and others. He’s appeared on TV and radio for news outlets like C-SPAN, NPR, CBS News, ABC News and CNBC Asia.  He has recently co-authored an article in GovTech on drones and local and state property rights and he also released an report card on which states are prepared for the drone industry.  In this edition of the Drone Radio Show, Brent talks about these publications, how local and state property rights laws could affect where drones fly and why these units of government should become more involved in the air management discussion to better prepare themselves for the future.

Brian Streem is CEO and Founder of Vermeer, a technology company that is developing an augmented reality drone solution that enables anyone to easily capture aerial photos, videos and data. Users can design their aerial shots on their smartphones and then send it to a drone to execute autonomously in the real world. Vermeer’s solution is designed for people who want to create high-end drone photos and videos, but don’t own a drone and don’t want to buy one.  In this edition of the Drone Radio Show, Brian talks about Vermeer, its augmented reality drone solution and how people can get the exact video or image they are seeking without ever having to fly a drone.

Can a drone help better understand sharks?

Jay Seidel is a journalism professor and media adviser at Fullerton College. He also oversees the Fullerton College Drone Technology program and is the coordinator of the Fullerton College Drone Lab. The Fullerton Drone Lab teaches students to become better and safer pilots, prepares them for the FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certification exam and provides hands on learning opportunities on the use drones in various industries.  In 2019, the Lab partnered with the Shark Lab housed at California State University in Long Beach to capture and provide data by drones on sharks.

The goal of the Shark Lab’s study to quantify recreational water use along Southern California beaches, advance the knowledge of white shark-human interaction behaviors, and assess the risk associated with marine recreation. Prior to becoming a teacher in 2005, Jay worked for 12 years as a writer and editor for various publications, including the Los Angeles Times and Popular Hot Rodding. He earned his master’s degree in communications from Cal State University, Fullerton.  And he served 11 years in the U.S. Army and California Army National Guard where he worked as an engineer and photojournalist.  In this edition of the Drone Radio Show, Jay talks about the Fullerton College Drone Lab, collaboration with the Shark Lab to help better understand marine habitats.

Have you ever wondered how the New York City Drone Film Festival got started?

Well today’s guest gives us the inside scoop.  Randy Scott Slavin is an award-winning director, photographer and aerial cinematographer and is the founder of the New York City Drone Film Festival.  He is a drone expert who is regularly featured on television and in publications around the world. As a director, he is known for his use of cutting edge camera technology to further the impact of storytelling.

Randy first gained attention for racking up millions of television views and YouTube hits for brands including American Express, AT&T, Bank of America, AdWeek, Tribeca Film Festival, Sunoco, Island/Def Jam Records for which he has received multiple awards.  As a surrealist photographer, his work can regularly be found in the pages of Time Magazine, Gizmodo, Mashable, The Washington Post, Fast Company Design and other publications around the world.

In 2014 Randy founded the New York City Drone Film Festival, the world's first event exclusively dedicated to celebrating the art of drone cinematography. It has experienced rapid growth since its inception, counting companies like SAMSUNG, RED, GE, NBC News, Adobe and DJI as headline sponsors.  The NYCDFF includes a dynamic slate of interactive panels and a "Day of Drones" hosted at the New York City Drone Film Festival and hosts thousands of attendees over festival weekend and hundreds of millions of media impressions worldwide. In early 2020, the New York City Drone Film Festival was acquired by AirVuz.com, the premier website for drone video content.  In this episode of the Drone Radio Show, Randy talks about the evolution of the New York City Drone Film Festival, what makes an award winning drone film and he gives us some insights into the role of drones in film making.

What are some of the advances in Counter Drone Technology?

For that question, we head to Paris, France to speak with Lucas Le Bell, CEO and Co-Founder of CerbAir.  Cerbair was created to counter the alarming increase of drone intrusions on critical facilities, as well as the threat they represent. The company offers anti-drone solutions that adapt to the needs of each customer.  Lucas co-founded CerbAir in 2015 with Olivier Le Blainvaux and in five years, the company has grown to provide anti-drone solutions to a large portfolio of customers worldwide. Today, it is recognized as one of the leaders in the emerging counter drone industry.  In this edition of the Drone Radio Show, Lucas talks about Cerbair, the pros and cons of the technologies used to counter drone incursions and the challenges and opportunities in protecting critical infrastructure.

Would you like to pilot a personal flying drone?

It may not be technically be a drone, but as today’s guest shares, the new HEXA from Lift Aircraft looks and flies a lot like a drone and could usher in a whole new personal flying experience.  Lift Aircraft is a venture of Matt Chasen, founder of uShip, the online shipping marketplace.  Chasen and his company has developed an electric, vertical takeoff and landing aircraft that is so simple to operate that anyone will be able to take it out for a spin and experience an entirely new kind of flying.  In this episode of the Drone Radio Show, Kevin Rustigi, Director of Business Operations at LIFT Aircraft talks about company, its new HEXA ultralight vehicle and plans to offer rides to those looking for unique flying experience.  We also talk about the future of personal flying vehicles.

Can A Drone Help Manage A Sailboat Race?

Dr. Tulinda Larsen is CEO and Founder of Skylark Drone Research, a technology company that empowers Fortune 500 companies with drone analytics, service providers with secure execution of flights and manufacturers with regulatory airspace compliance.  Tulinda has spent more than 40 years in commercial aviation. She’s a private pilot, a Certified Part 107 Remote Pilot and an Adjunct Professor in the School of Business at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University.  Tulinda also serves as an Advisor to Women and Drones.

Skylark Drone Research works with sailing organizations to develop drone programs designed for use of drones in sailing programs. The company worked with the Annapolis Yacht Club to develop policies and procedures for using drones for sailboat race management, coaching, yacht club events, and other applications. 

In this edition of the Drone Radio Show, Tulinda talks about how drones are used in sailboat race management and the best practices.  She also shares two new exciting program offerings of Women and Drones, namely a new membership program and job boards for Women and Drone members.

How does the Commercial Drone Industry view the proposed Remote ID Rule?

Lisa Ellman is the Executive Director of the Commercial Drone Alliance, an independent 501c6 non-profit organization led by key members of the commercial drone industry. The Alliance works collectively to merge policy with innovation to create relevant rules for operation. It educates on the economic benefits and humanitarian gains made possible by commercial drones and advocates for their safe and responsible use. It also brings industry and government together to solve some of the challenges facing the industry.  

Lisa is widely recognized as one of the “world’s foremost authorities” on drone policy and law. She was featured in Fortune's "Most Powerful Women" series for her efforts to develop policy governing drone use in the United States. In addition to her role with the Commercial Drone Alliance, Lisa is also a Partner at Hogan Lovells and Chair of the firm’s global Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Practice Group, a “one-stop shop” for all legal and policy issues related to commercial drones.

In this episode of the Drone Radio Show Podcast, Lisa talks about the Commercial Drone Alliance, its view of the proposed Remote ID rule and other initiatives the Alliance is currently involved to push the industry forward.

An Update From NASA

Today, we head to the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California to speak with Parimal Kopardekar and Misty Davies. The Ames Research Center is one of ten NASA field centers.  Since 1939, Ames has led NASA in conducting world-class research and development in aeronautics, exploration technology and science aligned with the center's core capabilities.  Ames Research Center supports virtually every major NASA mission and initiative through its expertise in aerosciences, air traffic management, advanced computing and IT systems and many other capabilities.  Dr.

Dr. Parimal Kopardekar, or PK for short,  serves as the Director of NASA Aeronautics Research Institute.  In that capacity, he is responsible for exploring new trends and needs related to aviation in the areas of autonomy, aeronautics manufacturing, and advanced air mobility. Dr. Misty Davies is Deputy Project Manager for NASA’s System-Wide Safety Project. Her work is focused on predicting the behavior of complex, engineered systems early in design as a way to improve these systems' safety, reliability, performance, and cost.

In this edition of the Drone Radio Show, PK and Misty give us an update on the work NASA is doing to support unmanned aerial systems, they talk about the challenges of developing autonomous systems and they provide some insights into NASA’s Grand Challenge for Urban Air Mobility.

What’s the outlook for the drone industry?

That’s the question we explore in my continuing series of interviews  with industry analysts, writers and editors.  In this series, I interview guests with diverse opinions and perspectives on the industry.  They provide a range of insights on some of the industry’s current topics and trends.  By the end of the series, you should have a good sense of where industry is going and how you can position yourself to take advantage.

Michael Blades is Vice President for Frost & Sullivan’s Aerospace, Defense, and Security America's Region. Frost & Sullivan is a business consulting firm involved in market research and analysis, growth strategy consulting and corporate training across multiple industries. Michael has been with Frost & Sullivan for over six years as a market analyst and growth consultant and has earned a Masters Degree in Aerospace Operations as well as an MBA. In this episode of the Drone Radio Show, Michael talks about some of the current trends shaping the industry and what to look forward to in 2020.

Where can you go to connect with the latest advancements in the drone industry?

Brian Wynne is president and CEO of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, the world's largest nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of unmanned systems and robotics. AUVSI represents more than 7,500 members from more than 60 countries involved in the fields of government, industry and academia. AUVSI members work in the defense, civil and commercial markets. Before joining AUVSI in 2015, Brian served for 10 years as president and CEO of the Electric Drive Transportation Association, the trade association promoting battery, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and fuel cell electric drive technologies and infrastructure.  Brian is a graduate of the University of Scranton and the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. He was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Cologne in Germany. He is also a general aviation pilot with a commercial certificate and has a Remote Pilots License. In this edition of the Drone Radio Show, Brian talks about AUVSI, the upcoming Xponential 2020 and why we should attend and he tells us what to look for 2020 in the drone industry.

How Will We Manage Autonomous UAV Fleets?

Nitin Gupta is the Founder and CEO of FlytBase, a Silicon Valley startup that offers an enterprise drone automation platform to power large scale deployments of intelligent autonomous UAV fleets. The hardware-agnostic IoT platform features intelligent plugins at the edge, cloud-based real-time fleet management, and APIs for seamless integration with business workflows. FlytBase is working with a large number of enterprise customers spread across US and Europe, helping them deploy fully automated drone applications for public-safety/security, warehouses, and inspections.

Nitin has over 15 years of experience in the automation and aerial robotics industry. Before founding FlytBase, he worked with multiple startups and with Samsung electronics. He has extensive background in aerospace control systems, robotics and automation. In this edition of the Drone Radio Show, Nitin talks about FlytBase, the challenges of building a system to manage autonomous fleets and he shares his thoughts on the future of the drone industry.

The Drone Industry in 2020

Lisa Murray is the event director for Diversified Communications, an international media company with more than 15 years’ experience in producing world-renowned events for precision measurement professionals.  If you’re in this field, then you have most likely have attended one of their events, including SPAR 3D Conference & Expo, the International Lidar Mapping Forum, the Commercial UAV Expo or Amsterdam Drone Week. Her experience with Diversified Communications gives her a unique vantage point on commercial drone industry, the companies making a difference and the people creating change.  In this edition of the Drone Radio Show, Lisa talks about the Commercial UAV Expo and Amsterdam Drone Week, the global trends shaping these shows and the issues and opportunities driving the commercial drone sector.

Are RF Detection Systems Effective In Stopping Drones?

Linda Ziemba is founder and CEO of AeroDefense, a New Jersey-based company that provides a proven drone detection solution for locating a drone and pilot simultaneously. The technology is named AirWarden™, and it uses passive radio frequency detection methods to detect and locate known and unknown drones without demodulating or decoding signals. The Department of Homeland Security recently recognized AirWarden with a Developmental Testing and Evaluation SAFETY Act Designation. The designation provides AirWarden users, who choose to take advantage, full immunity from liability claims alleging technology failure in the event of a terror attack. AirWarden is the first and only drone detection solution to be on the DHS SAFETY Act “approved technologies” list.  AirWarden is currently deployed at MetLife Stadium and correctional facilities in Georgia and Massachusetts.

Linda’s experience spans internet security, telecommunications and entrepreneurship, at companies including Websense, Secure Computing, Finjan, AT&T and Lucent Technologies. Prior to founding AeroDefense in 2015, she served as a key executive for LiveLOOK, a collaboration software company. Linda’s leadership across sales, marketing, and general operations resulted in numerous contracts with global financial services, telecommunications and computer firms, and ultimately acquisition by Oracle in 2014.

In this edition of the Drone Radio Show, Linda talks about the company's proven AirWarden technology, how AeroDefense pivoted to stay within Federal regulations for Counter UAS and the challenges and opportunities of creating a Counter UAS company.

How can enterprise companies better manage their drone operations? 

Uzayr Siddiqui is founder and CEO of Drone Entry. Drone Entry is a ventured backed drone startup, that provides an online platform Software as a tool.  The tool provides enterprise companies with a ERP layer to build workflow compliance management between data processing tools and airspace management systems to effectively scale and manage their operations.  Drone Entry also helps drone pilots build their career, and build their credibility with other stakeholders in the industry.  In this episode of the Drone Radio Show, Uzayr talks about the Drone Entry platform and how the company pivoted from a pilot-centric business to focus on serving the growing enterprise business sector. 

The Drone Industry in 2020

Miraim McNabb is Editor In Chief of DroneLife, the online source for the latest drone news, product releases, YouTube videos and legal precedents on the drone industry.  Miriam is a fascinated observer of the drone industry since 2013, when DroneLife launched. She has written and covered thousands of articles on the evolution and growth of the industry.  She is a frequent international speaker at drone industry events and writes for DRONELIFE on current news, financial trends, and FAA regulations. Miriam has a degree from the University of Chicago and over 20 years of experience in high tech sales and marketing for new technologies. In this episode of the Drone Radio Show, Miriam talks about the drone industry in 2019, the outlook for 2020 and she shares her perspective a variety of drone related issues and trends.

What's In The Cards For The Drone Industry in 2020?

Christopher Korody is a 45 year marketing veteran with deep experience in the technology, aerospace and automotive sectors. He launched DroneBusiness.center to provide UAS companies with the research, strategy and communication programs necessary to stand out in this fast growing marketplace. Dedicated to ‘connecting the dots,’ he edits an ocassional weekly newsletter, Dronin’ On, which is read by senior managers around the world. His deep knowledge of policy makes Korody a popular choice to participate on industry advisory boards and to moderate industry events. In this episode of the Drone Radio Show, Chris talks about the drone industry in 2019, the outlook for 2020 and he shares his thoughts on a variety of drone related issues that are key to moving it forward. 

Is it possible for drone users to create their own AI drone application?

Today’s guest not only says that it is possible, but with today’s tools, it is surprisingly easy to do so.  Murali Gopalakrishna heads up product management for autonomous machines at NVIDIA. He also leads the business development team that focuses on robots, drones, industrial IoT and enterprise collaboration products. Before joining NVIDIA in 2016, Murali was the global head of platform and technology strategy, leading the CTO’s office at Sony Mobile Communications. He was responsible for products ranging from phones, tablets and wearables to IoT platforms.  In this edition of the Drone Radio Show, Murali talks about Nvidia’s Jetson line of AI products, how artificial intelligence is changing the way drones work and how Nvidia is extending AI tools to more and more developers so they can create new and more exciting applications.

What's the Best Way to Learn Something?

Some studies say that the best way to learn something is to put it to music or to make it funny. Today’s guest would go one step further and say do both.

Victor Villegas is a technologist at heart who enjoys helping people learn how to use technology to improve work and better their lives. He bridges techies and users and has a knack for explaining technology in simple and easy to understand terms. Victor supervises the Oregon State University Extension Computing Technology Unit which provides remote and onsite support to all the Cooperative Extension Offices and Regional Branch Experiment Stations across Oregon.  When not working, Victor is combining his love of drones, education and music to produce song parodies that promote the message of flying safe. He’s the Drone Singer (@DroneSinger). It’s been a while since he’s composed a new drone song, so sit back and enjoy some of his classics, as Victor shares some of his songs and talk about the inspiration and message behind his passion.

What would a mapping software designed for first responders look like?

For that question, we turn to Angad Singh, a Pix4D Technical Trainer based in Denver, Colorado.  Angad’s interest in UAS based photogrammetry started when he realized he could get incredibly high resolution data which would enable his research to make micro level insights. He has a passion for enabling people to understand the power and limitations of UAS to create great geospatial data. Angad's research background is in Remote Sensing and Precision Agriculture from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. 

For much of this year, Angad has been working to get Pix4D React into the hands of first responders. Pix4D React is the fastest 2D mapping software designed for public safety and humanitarian aid professionals.  It is intuitive and simple to use, even for people with little or no drone flight or photogrammetry experience.  In this edition of the Drone Radio Show, Angad talks about Pix4D React and how it can support first responders and aid workers in increasing situational awareness.

What’s the outlook for the drone industry?

That’s the question we explore in a 4-part series of podcasts with industry analysts, writers and editors.  In this series, I interview guests with diverse opinions and perspectives on the industry.  They’ll provide a range of insights on are some of the industry’s current topics and trends.  By the end of the series, you should have a good sense of where industry is going and how you can position yourself to take advantage.

In this podcast, we’ll hear from Patrick Egan, editor of the Americas Desk at sUAS News and host and Executive Producer of the sUAS News Podcast Series, Drone TV and the Small Unmanned Systems Business Exposition. Patrick also serves as the Director of Special Programs for the Remote Control Aerial Photography Association. Patrick has spent the last 15 years working as a proponent for the business use of unmanned aircraft systems.

If you’ve ever read some of Patrick’s news articles or posts on Twitter, where he goes by The Drone Dealer, you’ll soon find that he some strong opinions.  In this episode of the Drone Radio Show, Patrick talks about the drone industry in 2019, the outlook for 2020 and he shares his thoughts on what’s holding the industry back and what could be done to move it forward.  

What is the outlook for drones from Price Waterhouse Coopers?

For that question, we head to Warsaw, Poland to speak with Adam Wisniewski and Michael Mazur of the Drone Powered Solutions unit of Price Waterhouse Cooper.  Price Waterhouse Coopers or PwC) is a multinational professional services network with headquarters in London. PwC ranks as the second largest professional services firm in the world[5] and is one of the Big Four auditors. It is a network of firms in 158 countries, 721 locations, with 250,930 people.

In 2016, Drone Powered Solutions was formed and headquartered in Warsaw, Poland, as the first and globally unique Centre of Excellence powered by PwC. It specializes in commercial and industrial usage of drone technologies and helps clients from various industries maximize the potential offered by drones and geospatial data.  Adam and Michael lead a team that consists of professionals with various background – from management consultants with business experience to engineers, photogrammetry and AI experts. Drone Powered Solutions works with a wide range of international corporations in Europe, US, Canada, Middle East and Asia. 

In this edition of the Drone Radio Show, Adam and Michael talk about PwC’s Drone Powered Solutions, why Poland was selected as the units headquarters and they share insights into the worldwide commercial drone industry.