I had the honor of spending the past two days with GENIUS NY at their founder’s retreat, some takeaways: - upstate NY is objectively the furthest along of any UAS related #economicdevelopment or #accelerator program in the country. They are also the most cohesive/collavorative. - many companies go here to help refine their products/solutions, but the #mentorship is top notch. Folks like Marc Viggiano / Ken Stewart / craig marcinkowski sharing their sage wisdom with younger founders, with successful alumni like AVSS | Drone Parachute Recovery Systems & Guided Delivery Systems and ResilienX providing a great perspective on the current market. - #technical #standards guide the industry, but alas there is a MASSIVE KNOWLEDGE GAP between policy folks and technologists/the folks making the tech. This will not change anytime soon ^ - too many of us (myself included) focus on sharing the wins, but tbh it’s the #failures that teach you the most. We rarely talk openly about our failures, and I think that needs to change. - #modular #hardware and #software will win. So many well capitalized companies are BURNING CASH attempting to build their own tech stack. Those who build only what they should will be able to provide the lean and effective solutions customers want. Example: #DFR platforms are currently way too ‘porky’ and offering too many superfluous features, and adding complexity to their own tech stack. Hell, you have one team of folks (who have never done computer vision before), doing #autonomy Similar challenges with #dronedelivery companies all looking to create their own #UTM. “This is why we can’t have nice things” I can hear Gur K. muttering from thousands of miles away. An enormous thanks to Kara Jones and her team for the invitation - honored and excited to be a resource for your cohorts. Notable mention/selfie with context: the NUAIR site is the real deal - from their #BVLOS corridor and their unmatched #infrastructure to the SOBERING REAL-WORLD CLIMATE, UAS Nexus is excited to partner with them to help bring this ecosystem to various parts of the country/globe.
Bobby Sakaki
4w
One of the biggest highlights was getting to spend time with Phil Kenul, Rear Admiral (retired) - who I have spent many dozens of hours speaking to, but never got to meet in person.
Dawn Zoldi
4w
Picking a state winner… hmmm… have you been up to North Dakota (Northern Plains UAS Test Site and Grand Sky) or to Texas or Oklahoma (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and Tulsa Innovation Labs). Pretty sure a lot of folks are equally rocking it - and there’s room for everyone at the table IMO.
Brockk Davis
4w
Resources like that are limited at this level. The most important thing to convey to stakeholders from the start is that you will never know it all or have it all, but to get to whatever your next level might be will require some external influence-it might even be a direct competitor. Be open to collaboration and networking as it becomes invaluable the farther you go!
Ira Hughes
4w
Yeah I am always asking people why they think building every part from the ground up makes sense. They think it will cost less but I think they are losing time and money developing what is already readily available. Will be interesting to see things evolve though.
Sorry to miss ya Bobby
Ken Stewart
4w
I spy Aloft Air Control and a BVLOS waiver mapped using custom airspace ☺️
Nitin Gupta
4w
Bobby Sakaki Spot on! Couldn't agree more with: "Those who build only what they should will be able to provide the lean and effective solutions customers want."
Wes Shover
3w
Glad you got up there Bobby - have you met Zevi Rubin ? I was out there recently and was blown away by what’s going on. Looking forward to my next trip.
“The Jason Bourne of the drone industry”
4wI want to make a dedicated post this weekend about the largest takeaway: the organizations with #aviation backgrounds or DNA are going to win. Period. The depth of knowledge that this cluster of folks in upstate NY have regarding DAA/Radar/UTM infrastructure is likely second to none. You aren’t seeing the ‘crazy sexy’ tech here - you’re seeing real world applicable technology that makes sense for those who understand the industry.