Can small UAS businesses thrive in this changing industry? Today’s guest has proven they can.&nbsp; Matt Dunlevy is President, and founder of SkySkopes, an unmanned aircraft systems flight operations company based in Grand Forks, North Dakota.&nbsp; &nbsp;SkySkopes is a professional service provider with a highly qualified operations and geospatial team. They operate a wide variety of advanced sensors and aircraft for transmission and distribution line inspections, oil and gas applications, and many other innovative use cases that focus on adding value. Matt founded SkySkopes in 2014 and secured the first FAA permission to fly UAS for business in North Dakota. &nbsp;Since then, he has success sfully navigated the company’s growth through the changes and evolution of the drone industry.&nbsp; A lifelong aviation enthusiast, Matt has taught numerous UAS courses at the University of North Dakota such as UAS Business, UAS Engineering, and UAS Ethics. Matt was also one of my guests on the first year of the Drone Radio Show podcast.&nbsp; At that time, the company was only about 1 year old and just starting to find its way in the energy sector. In this episode of the Drone Radio Show, Matt returns to talks about Sky Scopes, how the company has grown over the past 7 years and the lessons learned in creating a drone-based energy services company.

Small UAS Businesses That Continue To Thrive:  Matt Dunlevy, CEO SkySkopes

London-based DJ, Basket of Light festival organiser, radio host and all-round upliftingly eclectic selector, @poly-ritmo serves up the first Record Club mix of 2024. Having grown up on jazz, soul, Latin and folk, aged just 15 she started work experience behind the counter at Sounds Of The Universe, following that with a degree in Ethnomusicology at SOAS. Since then, she has become a trusted and cherished DJ across the UK, Europe, Brazil and beyond, holding residencies on Netil radio and Worldwide FM alongside doing a selection of livestreams for Vinyl Factory and My Analog Journal livestreams that have racked up millions of views. 

Currently on tour in Brazil, DJing at a string of parties across carnival in São Paulo, Santos and Rio, Polly took the time out to put together this all vinyl mix just before leaving the UK. Solely comprised of Brazilian records picked up on her last trip to Brazil, she mentions:

“I'm a big fan of Mr Bongo, and I wanted to record a mix that fits in with the Mr Bongo sound. I've got so many amazing Brazilian records that I love but don't get the opportunity to play so much, so an all-Brazilian mix seemed like a fitting theme.”

“A lot of the records I played in this are from the North-East of Brazil and many of the tracks are from the ‘80s - lots of synths and drum machines. The mix features a range of styles such as lambada, reggae, axé, afoxê, boogie, forró and samba.”

“My personal favourite track in this mix is Ruy Lima - Filhos de Gandhy (at 14.27 in the mix). I bought this record from my friend Roger who runs Pindorama discos in São Paulo. It's one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard. I love the afoxê combined with boogie, Ruy Lima’s sweet vocals and the soaring BVs. Such a delicious mix!”.

Massive thanks to Polly for the mix.

Find Poly-Ritmo here:

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/poly-ritmo
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/poly_ritmo/

Mr Bongo Record Club Guest Mix - Poly-Ritmo

Rinse FM Podcast

Keysound - 22 February 2024

Louisa Smith is Chief Aviation Officer at Apian, a healthcare logistics company founded by a team of National Health Service doctors in the United Kingdom. The Apian platform integrates both healthcare and aviation systems, creating a fully autonomous, on-demand delivery system that improves patient health outcomes and staff well-being. &nbsp;The autonomous drone delivery service will provide timely access to prescriptions, wound care, and other frequently needed medical products. &nbsp;In the long term, this could allow healthcare providers to reduce the number of canceled procedures, and thus decrease wait times. Before joingin Apian, Louisa was the Head of Research and Development at National Air Traffic Service and a former Military Air Traffic Control Officer, she is now bringing her aviation knowledge and experience to Healthcare. In this episode of the Drone Radio Show, Louisa talks about the efforts of Apian to develop drone delivery services for the National Health Service in the United Kingdom.  &nbsp;

Drones Serving England's Health Care Network:  Louisa Smith, Chief Aviation Officer at Apian

Umm Kulthum has been called the greatest singer in the Arabic speaking world in the 20th century. Born in 1904 the humble daughter of an Egyptian village imam, she went on to become a glamorous Cairo celebrity in her 20s, and soon after that, a cultural icon whose monthly live radio broadcasts brought much of Egypt to a standstill. She turned high poetry into popular culture. She extended musical forms with her virtuoso, extended vocal improvisations. Combining historical, religious, literary and musical passions, she inspired an enduring sense of national pride and left a legacy for the ages. Millions gathered for her 1975 funeral. With Umm Kulthum biographer Virginia Danielson as guide and guest, this program explores the life and music of a musical legend. Produced by Banning Eyre.

APWW #465

Women's History Month: Umm Kulthum - The Voice of Egypt

Amit Ganjoo is a serial entrepreneur and Founder and CEO of ANRA Technologies, an Award Winning Drone Operations and UAS Traffic Managment Platform provider based in Washington DC.&nbsp; The company’s platform is used by multiple commercial and government entities for running and managing commercial drone operations.   As advance air mobility efforts accelerate and the use of air taxis becomes a reality, vertiport design and operation is becoming a paramount concern, especially when considering scaling up to meet service demands across many cities and regions.&nbsp; ANRA Technologies is at the forefront of this discussion with their innovative Vertiport Management System, which integrates disparate data into a single platform to seamless manage the integration and operation of a vertiport.   Amit has over 20 years of aviation, telecom and wireless experience in both the federal and the commercial space. He is an engineer, a licensed pilot, following a lifelong passion in aviation and builds experimental aircrafts.   Until December 2016, he acted as the co-chair for FCC’s Technical Advisory Council (TAC) for 5G and IoT, which included ground and airborne autonomous vehicles. He was the Director of Engineering at and Principal Architect at Ericsson, providing telecom solutions to commercial customers and Federal Government, where he was the recipient of the Athena Award. He was also the Founder and CEO of a Mobile Marketing company from which he had a successful exit in 2009.   Deployed as part of the Expeditionary Strike Group, he was chief system architect for Navy 4G LTE Sea Pilot, delivering a one of a kind turn-key, secure, unmanned airborne/afloat autonomous 4G LTE Network with applications to directly support the war fighter. He architected the first ever approved classified security architecture for 4G LTE in line with NSA Commercial Solutions for Classified (CSfC) framework, approved for operational deployment in DoD in 2012.   Amit is also an adjunct professor at the George Mason University and shares his passion for engineering by teaching in the School of Engineering and volunteers at a local Maker Space in the D.C. area.   In this episode of the Drone Radio Show, Amit talks about ANRA Technologies’ Vertiport Management System and how it will help local communities and AAM providers scale up to meet demand.

How Can Vertiports Help to Scale the Operation of Air Taxis? - Amit Ganjoo, ANRA Technologies

How is drone technology making STEM education more accessible and fun for students of all background?  Rob Harvey is Executive Chairman and Cofounder of For the Win Robotics.&nbsp; For The Win Robotics fosters critical thinking and lifelong curiosity through the power of experiential STEM and computer science education.&nbsp; With its Build – Fly -&nbsp; Code program, the company has developed an innovative education system offering educators new professional development opportunities while making STEM and computer science education fun for learners. For The Win Robotics is currently used in more than 1,000 schools across the United States.&nbsp; By promoting collaboration, critical thinking and curiosity, For The Win is building essential skills that today’s students need to become the workforce of the future.&nbsp;Rob is a visionary brand builder with more than 20 years of experience elevating unique voices and guiding industry leaders to new technologies. As an executive within the music industry, he defined mainstream culture by breaking 50 #1 songs and promoting artists like Taylor Swift, The Weeknd, Drake, and Eminem.   He held influential positions at two major record labels before transitioning to Spotify, where he leveraged real-time data, consumer insights, and customer feedback to champion new business models and elevate brands globally. In the process, Rob helped redefine the record industry as we know it today.  Rob’s ability to amplify brands and identify gaps in the market led him to pivot to education, where he recognized a need for better STEM and computer science-based education technology. As executive chairman, CEO and cofounder of For The Wine Robotics, he pioneered the Build - Fly - Code program and released a first-of-its-kind curriculum to schools across the United States.&nbsp;  In 2023, For The Win unveiled Hopper, its newest drone, designed for hands-on learning and revolutionizing STEM education by providing the tools to make coding, robotics, and engineering fun and accessible for students.   Developed by a team of aerospace, education and technology experts, Hopper represents the evolution of FTW’s program.&nbsp; Hopper’s robust, reusable hardware and software is built around a closed, secure system. The drone, powered by a dual-core processor for communication and flight control, features a lens for advanced computer vision technology, including infrared and color capabilities, allowing for Wi-Fi-driven, real-time data and image information transmission. Validated through 889 Compliance, Hopper empowers educators to expand future-additional and hands-on STEM learning to all learners, including underserved communities and students of all abilities.&nbsp;   In this episode of the Drone Radio Show, Rob talks about For The Win Robotics, the Hopper Drone and how new drone technology is enhancing STEM Education.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;

Innovating Education with New Generation Drones:  Rob Harvey, Exe Chairman and Co-Founder of For The Win Robotics

How do we take control of truly dangerous drone situation?  &nbsp;  Jeffrey Starr is Chief Marketing Officer at D-Fend Solutions.&nbsp; D-Fend Solutions is the leading global provider of cyber-takeover, counter-drone solutions for sensitive and challenging environments. By focusing on the acute drone threat, their technology enables organizations around the world to maintain full control, safety, and continuity during rogue drone incidents across complex and sensitive environments and be prepared for future threats.&nbsp; The company’s core offering, called EnforceAir, automatically executes radio frequency cyber-takeovers of rogue drones for safe landings and safe outcomes.  &nbsp;  Jeffery brings a track record of generating revenue and building market leadership through visionary business strategies.&nbsp; Prior to joining D-Fend Solutions, Jeffrey served as CMO and in executive roles at AlgoSec, Cellebrite, Verisk 3E, Magic Software Enterprises and Amdocs. Jeffrey also served as General Partner at Mission Ventures VC fund and as an Analyst at Booz Allen.  &nbsp;  In this edition of the Drone Radio Show, Jeffrey talks about D-Fend Solutions and ways the company is helping organizations throughout the world create safer skies by controlling dangerous drone situations.  &nbsp;

Controlling The Drone - Jeffrey Starr, CMO at D-Fend Solutions

George Matus is CEO and founder of Teal Drones, a  trailblazing U.S. company at the forefront of innovative drone technology for both commercial and military applications. With advancements in air control, data processing, and mapping technologies, Teal is revolutionizing operations for the military, public safety, and various commercial sectors.&nbsp; Its flagship Teal 2 Drone is a model of security, intelligence, and high performance that meets the stringent standards of the U.S. defense industry.   George started Teal Drones in 2014 when he was only a sophomore in high school. By 2023, he was named CTO of Red Cat Holdings, the parent company of Teal Drones. Red Cat is an end-to-end drone solutions company based in the United States that is accelerating the future of aerial robotics to transform the way we live and work.   In Episode 412, I interviewed Michael Robbins, Chief Advocacy Officer at the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International or AUVSI. In that podcast, we explored the importance of U.S. competitiveness in the drone industry.&nbsp; In this episode of the Drone Radio Show, builds on this theme by highlighting the ascent of Teal Drones as a manufacturing leader and sheds light on the expanding opportunities for American drone companies in the global market.

The Rise of American Drone Makers: Leading the Global Market: George Matus, CEO and Founder Teal Drones

In this episode, producer Elodie Maillot in Paris reviews the career of mercurial Algerian-French singer, composer and activist Rachid Taha, who died in 2018. With remembrances from producers Steve Hillage, Justin Adams and others, the podcast brings to life a singular life and musical career. Taha merged rock and rai music, love poetry and fierce critique, gentle sensitivity and world-weary toughness. Today, his impact continues to grow. And even though the artist is now gone - his musical ghost is hunting our memories.

Planet Afropop - Rachid Taha: African Punk Ghost

How are advanced drone technologies revolutionizing global delivery systems?&nbsp;  For that question, we head to San Francisco to speak with Keenan Wyrobek and Juan Albanell of Zipline.&nbsp; Zipline is  the world’s first drone delivery service whose focus is delivering life-saving medicine to the most difficult to reach places on earth. The company designs, manufactures and operates the world’s largest autonomous logistics system. Used every day by businesses, governments and consumers, Zipline’s fully electric and autonomous drones reduce delivery emissions by up to 97% compared to gas cars. It has flown more than 70 million autonomous miles, and has delivered millions of items including more than 15 million vaccine doses.   Keenan Wyrobek  is co-founder and head of product and engineering at Zipline. &nbsp;Prior to Zipline, Keenan was a co-founder and director of the Personal Robotics Program at Willow Garage. He was involved in launching and growing the Robot Operating System (ROS) and shipping PR2, the first personal robot for software R&amp;D. Keenan has spent years delivering high tech products to market across a range of fields including consumer electronics, sportswear, and medical robotics.   Juan Albanell is Head of System Engineering, where he has led engineering efforts to scale up Platform 1 across the world and is now focused on getting Platform 2 from prototype to first customer releases. Prior to Zipline, Juan led a small team at Apple working on taking emerging sensing and display technologies from lab bench to automated production lines. He has dedicated his engineering career on taking early stage concepts to reliable customer products through a focus on test and automation.   In this episode of the Drone Radio Show, Keenan and Juan talk about Zipline, its long-distance Platform 1 delivery service and the company’s plans to scale short-distance Platform 2 home delivery services.   &nbsp;

Small UAS Businesses That Continue To Thrive: Matt Dunlevy, CEO SkySkopes

Drone Radio Show

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