Over The Air Podcast: AI, Connected Devices & The Journey

The most enticing opportunities on earth involve finding solutions to problems that have traditionally been considered impossible. What could be better than that?

How about redefining the imaginable outside of earth’s orbit — in deep space?

Neil Mallik, Office of the Chief Engineer for Space Communications and Navigation at NASA, joins the show to chat about the commercialization opportunities available in space exploration and communication.

We discuss:

- Openings for commercialization in the aerospace industry

- The technical challenges of interconnectivity outside of Earth

- Impossible things which might become possible within the next 10 to 15 years

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Most of our tech isn’t developed to be modular. Our cell phones, speakers, and TVs are designed to be used for a limited window of time and can’t be reused in any way — at least by the end consumer.

However, Afshin Doust, CEO at Advanced Intelligent Systems, has a different vision for the future of robotics.

In this episode, he explains how modularity minimizes development costs and time while empowering a bigger, better robotics industry for the future.

Topics covered:

- Making robotics scalable

- Bringing modularity to consumer technology

- Why Robotics-as-a-Service?

- Determining the core skills needed on your team

Never miss an episode of Over The Air by subscribing wherever you listen to podcasts.

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Over the Air in your favorite podcast player.

IoT is transforming the way we approach intractable problems like poverty, sustainability, and climate change, especially in remote regions like Africa. But there are many challenges inherent in bringing connected devices to these isolated places.

Jit Bhattacharya, Principal at Factor(e) Ventures, joins the podcast to talk about engineering IoT solutions for areas with unreliable connectivity.

Topics we covered:

- 3 challenges of developing an IoT solution for remote areas

- How lithium-ion batteries are changing the landscape

- The importance of data in developing products and gaining industry buy-in

Never miss an episode of Over The Air by subscribing wherever you listen to podcasts.

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Over the Air in your favorite podcast player.

Many of the world’s greatest innovations emerge from intrapreneurship. Given the space to incubate tangential ideas, employees often create products that become the basis for successful spinoff companies.

In today’s episode, we chat with Bob Marshall and Joe McNulty from Whisker Labs — a company born out of intrapreneurship. Bob is the Founder and CEO and Joe is the SVP of Product and Partnerships.

We discuss:

- The origin story of Ting

- Intrapreneurship and innovating within a company

- Analyzing whether a personal mission has legs as a business

Any questions for our guests? Contact Bob at [email protected] and Joe at [email protected].

Never miss an episode of Over The Air by subscribing wherever you listen to podcasts.

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Over the Air in your favorite podcast player.

IoT data can have a profound impact on the quality of your product. But don’t stop there. It can also potentially improve every single aspect of your business.

In this episode, Sean Grundy, Co-Founder & CEO of Bevi, joins the show to explain how IoT data guides his business and sets the Bevi brand apart from the competition.

We discuss:

- Using IoT data to inform decision making

- Hardware mistakes and lessons learned

- Tips for entering a contract manufacturer relationship

- Thoughts on core competencies and outsourcing

Reach out to Sean on LinkedIn or at [email protected].

Never miss an episode of Over The Air by subscribing wherever you listen to podcasts.

Listening on a desktop and can’t see the links? Just search for Over the Air in your favorite podcast player.

A lot of companies — even the big players — make the mistake of developing a product in search of a problem.

But today’s guest, Doug Roberson, Chief Technology Officer at Alterco Robotics US, advocates for taking a consumer-centric approach to product development. In this episode, he shares why listening and interacting with customers is the key to delivering a viable outcome that actually solves their problems.

What we talked about:

- Honing a consumer-centric approach to product development

- Ensuring there’s a large enough audience for a product

- Lessons from a development cycle without a viable outcome

- The importance of saying no to superfluous stuff

Check out Doug’s podcast, Make IoT Simple.

Never miss an episode of Over The Air by subscribing wherever you listen to podcasts.

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Over the Air in your favorite podcast player.

You’ve been given the reins of a moonshot engineering project. The company’s big, make-or-break initiative is in your hands and all eyes are on you. Feeling lost? Overwhelmed? No idea where to start?

In this episode, new co-host, Luke Wilhelm — Chief Product Officer here at Very and a veteran leader of big consequential projects — doles out advice for overseeing critically strategic engineering initiatives.

Topics covered:

- Advice for newbies leading a really big initiative

- Options for changing the scope of a project midstream

- Tips for effectively managing up

- Why saying “no” often makes saying “yes” more effective

Never miss an episode of Over The Air by subscribing wherever you listen to podcasts.

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Over the Air in your favorite podcast player.

A significant amount of the world’s population — over 2 billion households — cooks with dirty fuels. For most, there simply isn’t access to clean cooking fuel.

In Kenya, Nick Quintong (CEO and Co-Founder) and his team at PayGo Energy have designed an IoT solution that expands access to clean cooking.

In this episode, Nick shares:

- Why startups are abundant in Nairobi

- How a piece of smart hardware brings clean cooking fuel to Kenya

- The journey of developing new IoT technology

- Advice for negotiating the right metrics for success

Never miss an episode of Over The Air by subscribing wherever you listen to podcasts.

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Over the Air in your favorite podcast player.

The greatest transformation in the history of aerospace is happening now. The confluence of new technology combined with the evolution of space-based markets presents incredible opportunities for companies in the connected space.

Joining us on this episode to break it all down is Dennis Muilenburg, Former CEO of Boeing and current CEO of New Vista Acquisition Corp., a SPAC focused on emerging technologies in the aerospace and defense sectors.

Topics we covered:

- Significant changes in the connected space over the last 20 years

- How SPACs help emerging space IoT technologies

- Evolving space-based markets

- What’s on the horizon for space exploration

Over The Air

The digital transformation continues to upend industries and connect the world in new and innovative ways. But one industry remained untouched until recently: agriculture.

In this episode, we’re joined by Praveen Penmetsa, CEO/Founder of Monarch Tractor & Motivo, to discuss how he’s revolutionizing the agriculture industry by bringing automation and connectivity to farms around the world.

Topics that we covered:

- Transforming a stagnant industry

- Challenges of working in an agricultural environment

- The merits of a modular vs. a non-modular approach to product development

- How connected devices will change our lives in meaningful ways

Over The Air