Hardware Podcasts

348: Flop Onto the Bouncy Castle

Embedded.fm · 15 Oct 2020 · 59m · Episode 348

What this episode covers

Whitney Huang, an embedded software engineer at Zipline, explains the company's fixed-wing drone delivery system for medical supplies in Rwanda, Ghana, and the US. She details the unique launch and mid-air recovery mechanisms, the evolution of the aircraft's communication stack (2.4GHz, cellular, satellite), and the critical role of local operators in maintaining reliability. Huang also discusses Zipline's partnership with Walmart, the challenges of FAA certification, and the company's shift from a startup to a scaling operation with cashflow-positive units in Africa.

Most relevant to

companies scaling up

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Zipline, DJI, Walmart
Chips
PixHawk
Also
FAA, GNU

Related episodes from other shows

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • Robot Talk · 28m

    Episode 103: Delivering medicine by drone - Keenan Wyrobek

    Keenan Wyrobek, co-founder and head of product and engineering at Zipline, explains how the company uses fixed-wing drones to deliver life-saving medicine to remote locations. He details the engineering of Platform One, including the 'Snapcatch' recovery system and modular design, and introduces Platform Two, a hybrid drone-droid system for precise urban delivery. Wyrobek discusses the regulatory challenges of operating in airspace, highlighting their FAA-approved acoustic detect-and-avoid technology, and outlines Zipline's shift toward preventative healthcare and home delivery models.

    Robotics & autonomyDesign for manufacturing & NPI
    8 chapters

  • How I Built This · 38m

    Delivering the future in drones with Keller Rinaudo Cliffton of Zipline

    Keller Rinaudo Cliffton, co-founder and CEO of Zipline, recounts the company's evolution from a failed smartphone-robot startup to a global autonomous delivery leader. He details the technical and regulatory challenges of launching drone logistics in Rwanda, specifically the initial failure to reliably deliver blood to hospitals, and how Zipline pivoted to build a robust infrastructure for medical supplies. Cliffton explains how Zipline is now expanding into the US commercial market with Walmart, developing new silent, high-precision aircraft for home delivery of consumer goods.

    Starting a product companyScaling production
    7 chapters

  • The Robot Report Podcast · 1h 06m

    A look at Zipline's future & the design of the Zip's Droid

    Zipline co-founder and CTO Keenan Wyrobek and lead droid engineer Stephen Killian discuss the company's evolution from medical drone delivery in Rwanda to its new 'ZipDroid' platform for urban last-mile delivery. They detail the engineering challenges of achieving precise, quiet, all-weather delivery in dense environments, including the development of a decoupled control system and acoustic detect-and-avoid technology. The conversation also covers Zipline's recent FAA approval for autonomous flight in US airspace and its upcoming pilot in Dallas.

    Robotics & autonomyDesign for manufacturing & NPI
    7 chapters

  • Just Gonna Send It · 51m

    Keenan Wyrobek (Co-founder/CTO, Zipline)

    Keenan Wyrobek, Co-founder and CTO of Zipline, recounts the company's journey from his early work on the ROS robotics platform to launching autonomous drone delivery in Rwanda. He details the rigorous prototyping process, including failed attempts like stunt airbags and the eventual adoption of an aircraft carrier-style launch and recovery system using fishing reels. Wyrobek emphasizes how deep customer engagement in public health logistics clarified engineering requirements, leading to a focus on reliability and weather-hardened testing over complex features.

    Prototyping & iterationDebugging & failure analysis
    8 chapters

  • The Robot Report Podcast · 1h 21m

    Commercial UAV update; Product leadership at Bershire Grey with Kishore Boyalakuntla

    Mike Oitzman and Steve Crowe discuss the commercial UAV show, highlighting Matternet's FAA type certification and Amazon Prime Air's waiver-based operations, before detailing the FTC's investigation into Amazon's acquisition of iRobot over data privacy concerns. Kishore Boyalakuntla, VP of Products at Berkshire Grey, explains the company's transition from software to hardware product management and their focus on complex warehouse automation. He details Berkshire Grey's solution-oriented approach, including the Hyper Scanner for package identification and the flexible BG Flex system for micro-fulfillment, emphasizing how these technologies address labor shortages and high turnover in the logistics sector.

    Robotics & autonomyScaling production
    8 chapters

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by Embedded.fm. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.