UAS News Podcast — 2012-12-19
Transcript
Alright, hello everyone and welcome to the next installment of the UAS and SUAS news podcast series where we interview SMEs and discuss the news relevant to the global unmanned technologies community. I'm your program host Patrick Egan. It looks like our co-host Jean is MIA but he's probably out doing something staying busy these days. This week's episode is episode number 32 and it is a UAS retrospective with our guest UAS entrepreneur Jay Wilmot.
I guess we're going to talk about some of the news stories but I think we're going to jump right in here and start talking about the subject matter of this podcast. I know our guest Jay here for a few years and the listeners may remember him as he was a guest on episode number 16 if you were here live from AEBSI's Unmanned Systems North America 2012. This guy has been at the unmanned aircraft thing for so long I believe I saw him in one of the glyphs on the mine calendar and I think I know some other guys in that that same glyph but it's hard to tell.
Jay, could you please give the audience a little bio and how you got into this field sir? Wow what a great send-up Patrick thanks I'm delighted to be here and you know this is a passion of mine has been for a long time. As a matter of fact the AEBSI show in Las Vegas this year was my 25th consecutive year of being there and a lot of friends in the industry and a lot of memories so it was good to be there. It was an exciting venue.
It's good to be here too. I don't know if very many of you folks understand I grew up in Huntsville and I don't sound like it but it was a great place to be it's been so exciting in the last several years to watch the the blossoming of the industry there with the army program office and all the all the cool stuff that's going on there so it's been been a long way. When I was a kid we had a Rockets City RC shop and I used to go and look at the RC helicopters of the day and they were you know by today's standards very crude very difficult to operate very expensive and certainly out of my reach.
I never grew up as an RC model as many of our aerial robotics have. I was a plastic modeler. I followed after my dad and built plastic models and I got basic construction skills and painting and those kinds of things and I had an opportunity some years later to get hooked up with the guys who founded the original Brandenburg Tool Company who really were visionaries and wanted to apply RC technology to unmanned aircraft as the RPVs as we called them back then
and they had a program at Hopkins Applied Physics Lab at Columbia Maryland called X-Drone that was started by the great Maynard Hill who was to this day a renowned aerial modeler holds records for I believe he still holds the altitude record for an FAI class aircraft of 27,000 feet.
Right and he also was the guy that did the transatlantic flight. He did and that was an FAI class aircraft which is you know much smaller than anything you know ordinary like UAS today so he was way ahead of his time but he believed that the what the market needed was simple you know elegant solutions for at the time the system we're building was an airborne jammer and it evolved slowly into a reconnaissance platform
and the program went up over the last almost 20 years. In fact there's an X-Drone hanging up down in the Patch River Air Museum on the western part of Maryland so it was his notion that it required more than a bandsaw and a drill press to build these things and it was too hard too complicated probably cost too much.
But in that background the Brandeberry tool evolved into Brandeberry aerostructures evolved into BAI aerosystems we moved to the eastern shore and we were there until a few weeks ago L3 acquired the business in late 04 and you know during that time we were in the thick of a lot of program development efforts to get on a Tern and NACO and Tiger Shark and a lot of good things we were competitors for the Raven program before that DragonEye
and so exciting road. Well yeah most definitely and there's a lot of lottery history there now it's kind of funny you know I want to flash back to the Maynard Pan you know I got a questionnaire probably about six months ago from these kids at a well-known university and they had a survey on there when do you think this is going to happen you know what year do you think the first trans like Atlantic flight will happen of it
and I'm like that happened back what was that 97 or 98 or something I'm like oh yeah now that's old news really and I want to talk more about that when we fast forward in the way back machine but like you said I mean you laid out a lot of history there some and I mean I gleaned some first impressions of the technology from what you said and some of those systems and even the Maynard Maxim there that if it took more than the drill press
and the band saw it's too complicated but you know when you first got into this you know what were your first impressions of the technology you know what what what were you thinking well it just made sense to me Patrick that you could apply you know something smaller and lighter less expensive to operate than a man's system and you know certainly for the mantra still dirty dangerous it just just made sense that that this was where technology was going to go
and the question then as it is now is how long is it going to take and certainly much more viable today than it was then but back then you have to appreciate we did not have a lot of the ready solutions that we have today things like payloads ins that were small enough to fit on you know five pound airplane and this is all free gps so you know we had to deal with a lot of those issues you know poor quality data links some of these things we had to invent our own solutions for because it just didn't exist in the market
I know what you're saying I kind of you know that it's funny you talk about the modeling history and the hobby shop I really got into this deal with rockets I used to buy they had a it was like a boy scout pack of rockets I think you got enough stuff in there to make 10 rockets and I man I'd go nuts with that thing and then I got into the gliders because I kind of liked the quiet you know thing and like
you said back then it was kind of expensive and rudimentary but you know we've we've definitely come a long way and I definitely think since the electric revolution as I like to call it things have really opened up wide all right well you know another thing I wanted to kind of talk about and it kind of it kind of plays into that survey is I kind of find it ironic folks you know come up with these uses
you know oh my god you can use this thing for agriculture you know and there'll be like a news story it'll be a big you know they plan to use this unmanned aircraft thing or this drone for agriculture nobody's thought about it before what do you think when you read these news stories and see tv stories and stuff what do you think oh I think there's nothing new under the sun really I think we envisioned a lot of these applications when we go back to scan eagle for instance
and in academy gears vision using this for tuna spotting and that was years and years ago and so I think we we saw potential applications but the limiting factor had always been the viability of the technology and the cost effects and the same to this day it's difficult to compete with you know a guy we call jose sessler somebody who will put a payload up in the air and fly for fuel just to book the hour
so it's it's for particularly for the the non-dual dirty dangers in civil commercial applications the it's the cost factor and what's happened through you know development by mostly d.o.d applications and darpa so forth that have funded the hard development of enabling technologies is that those technologies are much more commonplace and and are going to enable things like the taco cocktail you know
I can't wait to get my first taco delivery you know why I may have heard that why not I did I'm a prescriptions you know well you know I that's definitely I mean I've talked to people who they they wanted to deliver you know pharmaceuticals to people you know nanook up there in the hinterlands of you know Alaska or something you know if that makes sense I could see that taco copter and I saw a new story for burrito copter
and you remember the old adage about you know they'll be delivering pizzas with these things and I did I did see somebody that had made a video and he had a pizza on it I don't want to blow his cover because I think that's probably going to be part of his marketing thing but it had a pizza on it and a couple of cokes you know there's still some logistics to work out there you know it's that pizza box faa certified
you know it's for the cokes well it could but it might be kind of hard to get a you know pizza box type certification we'll call down there and ask well you know we look at the specter of 30 000 drones in the air by 2015 you know what's lost there is that some of those are going to be delivering pizzas or something they're not all you know surveillance drones and that's another topic altogether yeah we're gonna yeah that one is that that is another topic
but I you know I do think that there are viable uses that are already I talked to a gentleman the just I was in like a and that doing some Christmas shot he called me up he says I was just down in Brazil and they're using these for agriculture and they see so much promise that they think that this technology is going to give them the edge to compete with the United States in farming so you know I mean we've been out here
you know proselytizing and talking about how great this technology is but it's it when people start applying it and seeing what it can be it can be done with it and the money that they can save I mean the proof is in the pudding and I think it's kind of funny you know the gentleman did ask me he's like well there are there any other countries using these for agriculture you know and of course and in some other countries
but you know my thing with that is if a country sees that much promise with it you know that that that they can compete with the United States in farming because of this technology and they're wondering you know when's the United States going to get on board when are they going to legalize this when are they going to be able to use it how much of a head start do we have and that is one of the things
I keep talking about is that head start your comments the technology is viable if you know the ability to do crop dusting or you know remote sensing of crops it has you know we've had that capability for a number of years it's sad that we're not able to apply that to our own benefit here and that that that too is another topic we'll get there and I think when we focus our resources you know I go back to being a huntsman
and watching us put a man on the moon as a child and you know after that any other technical accomplishment is is small in comparison so when the time comes we are really unsurpassed I think in in our ability to apply technology to to tough problems and when we have the resolve and the permission we will lead the world in application of unmanned technology and we're already seeing it ground robots for harvesting
you know those applications exist and part of the problem that we have is that we're not able to point to the shining examples of of civil commercial applications of our technology because we're not able and by large to to do that other countries are having that success and perhaps what we need to do is point to their success and support that I would bet you that you know while Brazil is a powerhouse when it comes to aviation
and and there are others in in South America for instance but that you know there are I'm sure partnerships that exist between those countries and companies that are involved in precision ag in South America that are partnered with us companies so we we are feeling our way along and we are benefiting from that it's just our our own people are not beneficiaries of lower cost reduced environmental impact
and the other things that go along with things like jobs and you know that are direct benefits of deploying this technology well I think we'll get there I agree with all of that you said I mean I I mean I even tell people they say well you know what do you think of this technology I think it has more promise immediate promise than green I think that what's available now as far as the technology is concerned could be put out there put the use in the field especially farming is one of them the private public asset management fishing timber
you know the the pipeline surveys the power line surveys which is funny I was at a thing not too long ago and I was speaking and I I a bunch of oil people there and I was like think of the money you could save if you were using these unmanned aircraft to do your pipeline surveys and the savings that you could pass on to the customer and of course the room you know roared with laughter that's not really how it works
but you know it sounds good but you know there's saving money and saving energy and it's green and yada yada so those are immediate benefits we could realize yes we will I think it's just a matter of time I read today where BP is using quadcopter to do pipeline inspection and probably not in the United States but you know that's that's a good thing that's a that's a headline that's the kind of headline our industry needs
you know something positive I agree now I have to say though I'm as a little suspect a quadcopter for pipeline survey is going to be I don't know if that's the right tool for that job but you know that's for them to figure out I do think that there's a little bit of a disconnect with the applications side of of this technology and maybe it's because the mainstream part of it is is young what do you think
well I think we have to be careful not to just like we don't like to be painted with the brush a big brother I think we have to be careful and objective in how we portray the benefits of our technology I mean aircraft are not a panacea they have their limitations they can be costly and so it gets a matter of recommending you know the right technology for the application first and foremost but the
you know we don't want to be mindless cheerleaders for our technology but I think we have to you know get the word out that there are there are things there are possibilities and we are solving problems every day with this technology and and that it is rapidly maturing it matures every day and I can say I come from the days before gps and we've got a lot more capability and ability to be safe and
and perform and provide valuable function we've ever had and that only gets better oh I agree with that you know I definitely I mean you know you're preaching to the choir on that one but you know and then that we could talk about that a little bit maybe you know I would label you one of the modern forefathers of this this field and you know well I would I mean you've been here for a while man you know there's no denying
I mean how many how many years you got in on this going on 30 years and I know I know guys that have been doing this longer than me the peers the peers in our industry I like you know the late Maynard Hill first instance and and others and who continue to contribute I tell you one of the things that that is is uh you know kind of sad to me and so it's alarming you know I look around it's a consequence of getting old
I used to be the kid in this industry now I'm you know a modern forefather you know so I I am shocked at the loss of the peers the people who came into this and believed in this when there was much less to believe in and much more work to do and all the heavy lifting and the shoulders that we all stand on who made contributions to where we are today and and and we're they're they're retiring and leaving the industry dying it's it's uh it's a consequence of life
but I uh I miss them and I think that there's still a lot that that they could contribute I appreciate the fact that there are a lot of them a lot of the people who manage our programs and built the companies that are you know so such leaders in the industry they had other careers first and many of them were for instance military officers and had five military careers and then they transitioned to industry
and built industry and built programs and corporations grew as a result of that and all the merger and acquisitions that we've seen over the past several years so it's a you know hats off to them for you know being strong and being leaders and establishing our industry oh and I would agree with a lot of that and you're you know that is funny as as time rolls on here I used to be a kid but you know age is creeping up on me
and it and I'm having a flashback my first ASTM meeting in Reno I think it was 2005 and I'm sitting there looking at this timeline and that is running out to 2009 and said man this is more of a commitment that I was looking for you know I remember a voice in that I'm like we're talking what four years here you crazy I got stuff to do man and uh you know here we are in 2012 but uh let me Patrick time flies when you're having fun
so that's what I find is that the last almost three decades that I've been in this has been a lot of fun and you know you've but everything takes longer than you're expected I was part of the AUVSI committee that selected decided to go down the ASTM trail and I you know never really imagined that it would be as long as it was that's just kind of the nature of the beast we just don't know when we get into it
well maybe but I you know I don't know coming from the private sector because I'm a commercial guy myself uh the the amount of time and waste is disgusting in my opinion it's taken way too long we haven't gotten anything and really you know and I try not to beat up on the FAA but I definitely think it's lack of leadership and direction from the FAA you know we could disagree or agree on that but from my from where
I sit you know I haven't seen I still haven't seen anything in writing from the FAA for standards they want people to work on and again you know maybe that changed in the last 60 days but uh you know I'm not participating in any standards group work until the FAA put some skin in the game you know and that skin in the game that could be a one pager hey we need this this this and this because I you know being a guy that has had to go to these things
and basically pay for it primarily out of his own pocket or donations from the community the inactivity is a real high jabber you know someone wanted to pay me six figures a year to sit there and and play the game with the FAA for five six ten fifteen twenty years you know that might be a different story your opinion sir I think that first off then uh maybe an apologist or defender of the FAA I think that we we have to work with them again
I was on an AESI committee years ago Mike Cernero recruited me to to uh help I guess it was really to educate FAA and create a working group to exchange ideas and help move the understanding process forward and but so I I believe that they are uh earnest I respect the need for safe operations and standards and so forth I also believe in accountability and I believe you know as a fellow private sector person
you know I don't do my job I'm going to get fired it's that simple and you know what we always say is it does it take an act of Congress to accomplish something you know like that it's the pinnacle of difficulty in getting something done well here we have an act of Congress and and now what we have is a a deputy administrator who has you know risen to to his level of incompetence apparently because
now we're throwing in a red herring of privacy which is as far as I could tell never a purvey of FAA and I'd like to know well what if okay if it's not an act of Congress what does it take where where is this individual and his agency now where do they get off not adhering to a schedule that was put forth by Congress and raising these these non-relevant issues I have a real problem with that and I frankly
I don't know how the rules work but I think it's uh it seems to me that the HC is in contempt of Congress and that Congress of course Congress is broken too but if Congress were doing their job of oversight that the individuals or agencies who are responsible for being in contempt should be hauled in before the appropriate committees and forced to answer a few questions and or and and perhaps fired or not work as the case may be in order to make the point
you know firings will continue until morale improves well the inactivity is unacceptable you're preaching in a choir here there's there's no accountability um I mean some of the stuff that's come back even on my behalf to my congressperson to me it's it's like you know uh what happened to the representative form of government you know people from my community here hundreds of thousands of people voted for this person to represent us in DC
and this person writes you a letter and you know you treat them like uh it's a family show uh but anyway uh you know I I believe the same as you is there's got to be some accountability and you know the other thing here's one deal that gets my goat too with the FAA they don't have an administrative procedures manual which just shocked me because I had asked about that with the edict of February 13th of 2007 which
I believe they made a uh a 180 on FAA policy and without crossing the the t's and dotting the i's so I go okay well let's see a copy of the administrative procedures manual and how this all fit and they came back and said we don't have one how do you get how do you how do you how are you a federal administration with no uh administrative procedures manual so what do you just like kind of willy-nilly
and you make it up and I think that that's one reason that where we're at today the other thing I have to say is the language in h 658 hr 658 I saw a pre um let's say preview of that before it came out and I said now this isn't going to work because uh it did not it's like telling I equate it to telling a teenager to clean up his room and uh you know I don't know if you have a teenage son I do and uh
you say well yeah get in there and clean up the room you go in there well I didn't know you meant the closet too you know or it doesn't say you should you should clean up your room right exactly oh I didn't know how to do this yes so as the same thing with the FAA they could have really drilled it down and said hey you're going to do this you're going to do that you're going to do this you know and this is how you're going to do it um
and I think it was too loose and fast and I think it was naive to think that you're going to get a and and the the FAA to move around on such vague language now I don't personally believe that test site thing is about privacy one iota you know um again I go back to the small us arc the last bin or the fourth bin with the 55 pound aircraft was there going to be a test center idea would be out in the middle of nowhere uh privacy is not really an issue out in the middle of nowhere
I think it's a political issue I think like you said the assistant administrator this guy's thinking about you know greasing the skids to get himself uh you know confirmed hopefully one day um and you know every district in the United States is called and inquired about a SUA or a UAS test facility everybody thinks that this is the new thing so I think that there's it's a it's a political minefield if
you give one to one state the next day it's going to go well you know screw this guy I'm not voting for him what do you think well have we seen the criteria for selection first off I mean and the fact is that everybody you're right is signing up saying we want one in our backyard and that kind of implies it and we want everything that goes with it we accept you know the airspace conflicts and we accept privacy issues
and and but we want it as a community we're taxpayers we're voters so that's that's good enough I mean the president just said they legalized marijuana he says you know the federal government has better things to do than to go and pursue individual uh marijuana users the the taxpayers you know the voters have spoken and so the voters are speaking when they say we want a facility here and we believe in the technology we want this to happen the thing is no one's listening
and I think the FAA could could it would go a long way and I'm a big believer in finding the middle ground or the middle air if you and they could go a long way if they would you know throw a bone every now and then and what we've seen is you know a lot of restrictions you know uh thou shalt not how about a couple of thou shalt let's uh find a way that's reasonable I mean let's let's go back and look at uh some of the languages four ounces
okay it's considered an aircraft if it's four ounces or has a lifespan of what six inches really I mean I have a fundamental problem with that I think that you know where do we go astray with this whole process uh was not challenging that in the strongest part possible way when FAA defined us as aircraft when we have things that are the size of of you know hummingbirds come on amen brother you know
so it's a matter of reasonableness and it's frankly the stroke of a pen FAA could uh you know provide a lot of benefit to a lot of people by finding some middle ground but they choose not to act because that's the safe thing to do and and it's brought an excuse like privacy because that's the politically correct safe thing to do so that that's just uh it's just not acceptable and I don't know other than to say
right your congressman I'm a big believer in that that we we as an industry need to be more engaged at the at the advocacy level I'm so proud that ADSI has stepped up and has taken a leadership role over the years at many of our origins to to you know let's be a a force to represent the goodness of our technology and all you know proponent for all the people who are contributing to our industry they they're doing that
and we're getting things like hr 65a as a direct result of of our of course the media calls it lobbying but that's you know folks that's how we do business in america we we have to get our point across and it's a matter of educating the rule makers and the lawmakers and you know what are we what are the benefits and frank objective you know non-frenzied terms of how how we can benefit and why it's in their interest to act
and and to enable us to go forward so I I'm a big believer that that's an an invaluable part of being a member of any technology that that you know is facing these kinds of restrictions and owners rules that prevent us from doing business right now you know and you hit on a couple of those those were I did have a question for you and it was some of the wrong turns and and you you hit them and that's why you're on the show that's why you're a guest here today one of them
I definitely agree letting the faa remember when they were unmanned be aerial vehicles okay they were rpvs right exactly but when they were vehicles they were not in the purview of the faa they were not aircraft they came back and redefined us and you're right is a four ounce aircraft with a six inch wingspan or something that's the size of a hummingbird or even a little quadcopter or something is that really an aircraft is a cargo really commercial
I mean I made that argument too it's a I'm not really I'm not carrying persons or cargo you know I'm carrying possibly ones and zeros over here you know is that a cargo you know is it is it truly commercial because one dollar has changed hands if that's the case you know there you're not supposed to do any commercial activity in life's board aircraft but you know from what I've heard it's not free to learn how to fly
you know and there there are some other examples like that but there's double standards and this community you know and at some time I know I don't really like to tread into the personal responsibility pool because it seems upset folks but you know it's up to the community to say hey hey hey hey that's a name and we're not taking that but a lot of people that are involved won't do that because they don't want to upset the apple cart
I think that's a mistake another point I want to hit on as you talked about you know advocacy or whatever else the best advocacy and this is something that the RCAP has been very successful at with minimal amount of money is the grassroots we've had you know campaigns where people have written their congressmen and the phone was ringing off the hook down there at the FAA to the point where they asked us
you know could you please stop because it's just taking too much time answering all these letters and phone calls and it's it's a hassle and you know it's funny being naive back in the day going okay well it's too much of a workload all right we'll back off you know that was the wrong move should it be doubled or tripled our efforts and kept the phones ringing and the letters coming and I and I think that that would have been something that maybe would have affected some change
so you know you live and you learn but those were some of the points I saw what you were talking about some of the stuff I had it hit on you know and in this conversation but you know I don't know you've been around long enough before 2007 to February 13th and I know you were flying a lot of other people were flying did you really did you really think it was it was the menace that it was portrayed this technology
you know anything can be a menace if you go to the post office is there anything potentially hazardous yeah everything is potentially hazardous so you have to be careful and you have to you know weigh the risks and you want to accept the risks and that's what I think we all did and now the risks have been defined as as now FAA has to manage the risks but I I really think that if we were to look at the technology
and say well is this a risk is something I mean we need a review I've often said that I don't think that we in industry have done a good job of of educating FAA and others on on what it is that we have and as the technology continues to evolve certainly everybody sees you know the application of predators and global hawks and so forth but I don't think they see that there that there's smaller more innocuous systems out there that don't represent a threat
and when they when they do okay when they when you do talk to people who have been air traffic controllers or pilots and you look here's what we're talking about they just go come on really now so there's FAA is is not morphing with the technology I accept blame for the industry that we haven't done good enough of a job to to to you know assuage their fears I also think too though that that where we need to apply resources is less on the sensor development
and autopilot and all that what we've got to do is is address the deconfliction and and I've always felt that the best way to mix systems in the airspace is just altitude and if I also think that you know look at the AMA for instance the grandfathering that's a remarkable fact of airspace management that the FAA has grandfathered in and allows a lot of systems to operate in the national airspace that's what it is they they do
so because somebody has a construct that works for them it's it's first off there's you know you know who it is they are insured they're in a defined area and they agree to operate under certain conditions and and so the FAA was handed a ready-made solution or perhaps it really went to them with a similar construct that's saying look give us and isn't this what small US rule is supposed to address low factor that
you know we're going to have some relief from things like colors and maybe some some you do it operate small systems at 400 foot level for instance that's what I'm hopeful for and that's why I think that like I said if the FAA could find that middle air and that compromise that you know some benefit will be realized and I think we would be griping a lot less well I agree and you know even what was there were
I mean even I don't know if you read the RCAP or proposed guidelines we came in with those and you know other other organizations like MITRE or whatever used parts of that it was very pragmatic it was implementable today it was less than what was going on right now yada yada yada you know gave them to that or gave them those and you know to come up to find out years later they didn't even read it they're not interested in reading it they're not interested in doing anything
and that's where the accountability comes back in you know these the 400 foot and 1500 feet laterally or whatever that should be a given especially for aircraft for tangible aircraft under four pounds the other thing that I'm going to have to harp on again is the people that have been driving this integration effort are driving their products and even the arc that's going on now you have a bunch of vendors on there who are looking to make their products the solutions for this problem
and that's not the way to go about it I think that we've been trying to pound a square peg through a round hole for the last 10 years and that's me but from what I've seen in in the history that I have it was part of this effort there there were solutions and there are solutions and I just don't think that you have people at the FAA that have the leadership let's say the guts to make it happen you know they just don't they don't have the will same deal
I talked to the office of the White House Office of Science and Technology and they were like well what what could we do to help this along I said you know the president could call down there himself and they would say Mr.
President are you going to take you know responsibility for the safety of the NAS and that's usually where our congresspeople fold up like a cheap taco uh no gotta go see you have a nice day but if I was the president I'd be like why would I want to do your job what's the taxpayer paying you for what are you doing down there you know uh what's happening and so uh you know again I think that's a capability some people might think that that's kind of heavy um
I foyer requested the progress reports and the financials for the unmanned aircraft program office and the new UASIO and I'm I plan on doing an exposition that when I get them they're notoriously slow but I want to see if we as you know the public and taxpayers and whatever else what we've been getting for our millions of dollars do you think that's that's those are some fair questions Jay sure um
I agree with you on the accountability issue and I think that that it comes back to um being an advocate and letting your elected officials know what you think and what you expect and asking them to you know act on your behalf and and if the leadership doesn't get the job done um you know it's not a marriage get rid of it yeah let's move on next yeah I mean that's that's how I think about it you do your job or
you go I don't know and I do you know when you said that earlier as a private sector guy I mean you know you don't come into a they got a job description and you know uh yeah we want to hire you to come in and solve this this problem okay great you know three years later well hey we're going to call you in for your review what have you done well nothing well do you plan on doing something well yeah
you know you're gone you know you're out of there I don't even think it was the first year you know well so you've just sat there at your desk and you really haven't accomplished anything well no but you know I went on a couple of junkets and I'm trying to figure some stuff out and maybe in a couple or two three years I might have something for you get back to me you know you'd be fired but whatever the case
anyway we're almost down we're like at a four minutes and uh someone who survived in this field uh maybe you can you could speak to that what what's been the let's say the key to your success for being a survivor here on the unmanned systems island I think I think success is a relative term uh survivor is just probably more apt and I have boss once that told me that uh you know not stick to it of this
and I'm a big believer in that stick to it is find something that you love and do it it's first it's not a job but but the experience that you gain the the relationships that you build you know interesting is I look back perspective is that the things that I did that the the skills that I developed the technology piece of it a lot of it's obsolete who cares about some of that stuff and so what at the end of the day the it's the relationships it's who
you know not what you know sometimes and so that's that's why I enjoy the association I enjoy the industry and I have a great many friends but I think that the uh there's an opportunity for for everybody in industry to to uh collaborate and work toward the common goal of industry growth and you know I don't a lot of sounds like sounds like motherhood but my I just stick to it just stay with it you know
and uh I think try to lead the discussion you know or at least be part of the discussion don't sit on the sidelines and we're all part of uh you know part of the solution well and that's some very uh sagacious advice I I agree the same it's funny you see people come in and they're all fired up and I got this aircraft and I'm doing this and I got this application and poof gone like the wind six months later
well where are they you know um so I agree with you I think you gotta hang in there I know I enjoy this industry I enjoy this technology I enjoy the promise um and and those are all some of the same things I share and I agree with that advice that you gave uh you gotta get involved you have to get involved for a future uh that you want to see yourself in that's kind of how I put it well I'm going
to give a shameless plug here to the a hampton roads chapter we're having a workshop that we're co-sponsoring with the Christopher Newport University in Newport News Virginia the Center for American Studies has a workshop on uh the reapers come home is the title of the workshop but we're we're going to talk about privacy issues and we've got a great slate of speakers from academia from industry and from
you know the Department of Justice and ABSI and it's going to be I think a good forum for for coming together and exchanging information and I think we need to be more engaged with with the detractors of our of our industry and you know let them know what what we really are about we're not big brother that we do have I think we share their vision for the responsible use of the technology that we're we're not going to do uh something that is contrary to American principles
and to the way we uh the way we do business it's it's uh necessary for us to be proactive and to engage people who seem to have other views of what we're all about right well I think it's an excellent opportunity I want to thank you for coming on we're almost out here it's time to pay the bills but thanks again jane we'll have to have you back on in the future