Techversation, LLC

Happy New Year! I have no resolutions for you! I’m also clear about what did happen/didn’t happen last year, and what worked/didn’t work. So with that, let me fill you in on a recent conversation about Techversation.

At a recent holiday dinner party, one of my roommates asked me to tell everyone what it is that I’m up to with my business and the UAV project. After a lengthy talk and discussion of ideas, one question came up that I had only briefly entertained before and abruptly dismissed. “Why aren’t you using an existing airframe/airplane for your testbed?” As it turns out, my answer to that was long, complicated, and difficult for most to really understand and appreciate – kind of like that last year of creating this business!

So with that, I’ve set out on a new plan, and plane! I just purchased a stock plane kit, radio and all electronics, that I will modify to use in my experiments and mounting the camera and other communications devices to it’s underbelly. I will also continue to build the first plane! Now, I have the advantage of both! Whee!

This afternoon I’ll be heading out to the park to familiarize myself with the operation of the aircraft. Learning about it’s performance envelope (i.e. what it’s capable of flying in the air) and how to best apply modifications and all the other equipment.

That’s all for now!

Things have slowed to a crawl here.  Or maybe just stopped.  I can’t tell sometimes, because it seems like all I do is work my day job, and not enough gets done on this business.  I find that I have nothing measurable to make note of in terms of progress.  I also find that I’m restless with work, and that I want very badly to be committing time to my business instead.  But the business doesn’t pay the bills yet, and what meager triflings I have left over after all is said and done, does go towards supporting my business.

I’ve had conversations with people around getting funding.  These are the bright points, or rays of hope that shine through.  I would like to generate them in higher frequency, and actually have effectiveness at having those conversations. How would it look if I was effective?  Well, money in the bank is one specific measurable result.  Not working a day job anymore would be another result.

Well, I seem to be rambling here. Time to refocus my efforts!

This article is one of the many out there right now in regards to the search efforts regarding missing and world record holding Steve Fossett. There is a website setup for searching satellite photography to aid the Search And Rescue teams. There is a registration process, and at that point you will be able to flag photos and contribute to the SAR efforts.

We are also finding that the technology is helping solve old mysteries.  It was inevitable that searchers would spot old wrecks in the hills.  I also goes to show just how ineffecient SAR efforts have been.  Putting hundreds of people on the ground, and maybe a dozen aircraft up to look for missing people or small aircraft just doens’t seem to work all that well.

Hence the work I am doing, though still in it’s infancy, is so important.  For a fraction of the cost already spent on this one high profile case, hundreds, if not thousands, of drones could be put up in the air.  Not to mention the computing power we have at hand that can do pattern recognition and flag points of interest.  I’ve said it before, and I’ll continue to say it – the technology exists, someone just needs to do it.  Also, while I do feel that I am the one that is actually doing something about it, I can’t help but feel at a loss due to a lack of resources and support.  Money and people is what it will take to get this project off the ground and into widespread use.  I just cannot be more frank than that.  You want something done about it?  Then help me any way you can think of.  I have nothing to offer you in return right now.

List of people/resources that are needed:

• money
• lightweight camera
• satellite/cellular data connection
• programmer familiar with streaming video
• programmer familiar with using computers for flight control
• marketing/PR guru
• another model/RC aircraft builder (scratch building experience highly recommended)

There’s more I’m sure, I just can’t think of it right now.  I’ve had people offer to help me financially if I’ve got a business plan and I am not a business plan writer.  Nor do I have thousands of dollars to pay someone to do it for me.  Not even hundreds.  So if you know a business plan writer willing to work for free or get paid on the back end, send ‘em over.

This article was also published on my personal blog – TastyAlmonds.

So it takes an entire (empire?) corporation to build what is arguably the most revolutionary new cell phone, over a longish period of time, with an army of technicians, engineers, etc. – and one 17 year old teenager, with a handful of online buddies and no girls to chase for the summer, to unlock said phone so it is freed up to be used on a network it wasn’t designed for.

Well George, you got your car and some more iPhones, so I guess it’s all good for now, eh?  Considering the leverage concept, and how information is so wide-spread and accessible these days – it points to how the latest inventions are purely innovations.  There’s nothing “new” about the iPhone – somebody, in this case a corporation, simply implemented existing technologies into a physical form that so many people have been secretly wanting for a long time.  Simple is the other context there, which seems to have been missing for so long.  Look at the complexity of phones with all their buttons and keys these days.  Some even have “rocker” keys, such that pressing the left or right side of the button/key produces a different letter.  The only downfall is that these buttons/keys are really only usable by small children, as adult fingers are much too large and unpracticed for such things.  But now I’m getting into the whole “usability” conversation, and that’s off-track.

My point I was trying to make earlier, is that anyone with a bit of intelligence can do something which has normally been considered undoable in the past – hacking some big corporations’ products.  A little time on the innarnet, searching, perusing, and googling spec sheets, forums and the like for that tidbit of info that will get them to where they are going.  Collaboration is distributed, and even to a degree, anonymous.  You can enlist the help of someone you’ve never personally met, and don’t even know where they are on the planet.  And yet they are there, inspired by your vision, and they willingly help you.  Do you even have to promise anything, beyond the satisfaction of cracking open the innards and internal workings of the latest fad?  It’s amazing the lengths people will go to, just for that thrill.  The moment of “truth”, where you find out if you are “right” or not.  What’s neat, is that if you are “not”, you can continue on and try again.  In George’s (and his online buddies) case, for about 500 hours worth of work.

So if you had your own “army” of engineers, what could you put together in a pinch?  How about an iClone? Remarkable what the Chinese have produced, eh?  Yeah, let’s just completely redo something the Americans have been waiting for, and do it better, cheaper, and hella quicker!

I suppose the thinking one must get used to now, is that these sweet new things are just fads. To stay ahead of the curve is becoming harder and harder for companies, as it seems like inefficiencies in communication and production are simply stacking up to slow things down.  It’s hard if you’re not a sleek, slim, svelte organization.  Keeping up is a monumental effort for large organizations.  The smaller, the quicker, more efficient, and it seems, more dedicated  organizations can replicate just about anything these days.  If not, they can just hack it!

Let’s see, where have I been all month? Caught up in my job, a new relationship, and various other things. Fortunately, the time has been well spent, exploring who I am as a responsible adult and getting straight about what it is that I am up to and what my commitments are.

It’s interesting too, to see myself “growing up”. That I can actually notice this phenomenon from outside of myself is pretty cool, and I can see now where I get stopped in my pursuits. Then what happens is a “change of mind” and really I just get clear about what needs to get done. That’s really all there is to it, just look at the job that needs doing, and then do it. No whining, no complaining, and no bragging either… it’s all just excess noise that doesn’t forward a whole lot of anything.

So with that, I need to get on with things today! Here’s a couple of pics for the inquiring minds…

Progress has been slow to non-existent lately, partly due to a vacation, partly due to the usual human conditions of self-doubt and procrastination. Overcoming such obstacles is really easier than I’ve made it out to be in the past, and I can see that just identifying what needs to get done, and then doing it, is so much simpler.

The cliche, “a picture speaks a thousand words” will be applied here:

The irony of my last post is striking me now as I post one month later – how did I get here?  Oh yeah, one day at a time.

The progress report for today is not quite so solid to see in terms of providing pictures or evidence of work done.  I did some fiberglass work, but it’s translucent and as such not easily seen in the pictures.  I’ve also put together a power point presentation outlining the main points of the system.  I started in on the business plan too, and until that is done I’ll be keeping that under wraps.

At the moment I am considering making some sort of Flash/multimedia presentation to touch on the highlights.

I just read a quote the other day, about getting behind, though I don’t recall who authored it: “How does a company get a year behind? One day at a time.”

Picture updates here which are from (as I look, I think “yikes!”) 10 days ago. Anyhow, here they are:

Power point presentation is basically done in regards to the major selling points of the system under development. Still hammering out the business plan, which I am intending to be done tonight, so I can get it off to my lawyer and that will lead to a very productive and fund-raising meeting by the end of next week. This has so GOT to happen, I just really only regret the fact that at some time in the day I have to sleep.

Ok, so now to keep on keepin’ on and minimize distractions…

I’m continuing with the updates here as a form of accountability to show the progress of the UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) prototype. The following shots show more work on the wings and prep for mounting the ducted fans. I’ll be laying down more fiberglass to reinforce the structure, as well as the fan mounts to keep the torque from twisting them out of the wings.

Without further ado:

It seems to me, that for some people progress moves quite rapidly and for others, painfully slow. I seem to be agonizing between the two. Looking at how long it takes some people to develop a prototype, I know I’m probably moving along at a respectable pace. However knowing my own talents and abilities, and responsibilities of my day job, I am moving at turtleneck speed. While at some future point in time I will look back from my well lived viewpoint and ponder having gone through this experience, I know that right now, this moment, being in the experience is not particularly exciting or fun.

I really feel the resistance of having to do what must be done to get business off the ground, quite literally considering it’s a UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) to be used for search and rescue and delivery of survival materials. Actually, two UAV’s are involved in the complete system, and right now I’m only working on the first one – which will be used to find the lost and needy. The delivery vehicle will come a short time (”yeah right”, the voice in my head chuckles) later once this first airframe is proven and we have video proof of the concept flying.

As such, here are some pictures I’ve been taking to show my progress:

As you can see, the fiberglass which I am using is quite thin.  It is one quarter ounce fiberglass, which is how much this stuff weighs per square meter.  Once it is bonded with the epoxy on the foam core, it’s amazingly strong, even at only one layer.  I do have some 2 oz. fiberglass to use for more strength and rigidity, or for structural reinforcement.  I just don’t see using the heavy stuff right now.  If neccessary, I can add another layer of the 1/4 oz. to stiffen things up or make them tougher.

At this point I want to make regular updates here, showing my work and progress.  It all has to do with accountability and taking this responsibility seriously.  Someone just needs to check on this to keep me in check, so-to-speak