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Launch HN: Radical (YC W23) – Autonomous high-altitude solar aircraft

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Re: Launch HN: Radical (YC W23) – Autonomous high-altitude solar aircraft

#181

Post by kortilla »

simfoo wrote: post #172
jthomaslm wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, Airbus’s project and team is very cool! What we’re doing shares similarities with Zephyr, but we’re focusing on a lower cost system, and a larger payload which will enable more use cases. We’re using conventional silicon solar cells, rather than the GaAs cells used by Airbus. We give up some efficiency by doing this, but it keeps costs far lower - which we think is key to iterating quickly, and opening up some o…

> we’re focusing on a lower cost system, and a larger payload which will enable more use cases. So you want to beat Airbus but also be cheaper. And do it with off-the-shelf components too, because those specialized ones are just too expensive. Not to say it's impossible but wow

That’s also how SpaceX disrupted the launch industry. Rapid iteration of cheap shit lets you learn so much more and improve the system so rapidly that competitors get left in the dust.

Re: Launch HN: Radical (YC W23) – Autonomous high-altitude solar aircraft

#182

Post by Juicyy »

simfoo wrote: post #172
jthomaslm wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, Airbus’s project and team is very cool! What we’re doing shares similarities with Zephyr, but we’re focusing on a lower cost system, and a larger payload which will enable more use cases. We’re using conventional silicon solar cells, rather than the GaAs cells used by Airbus. We give up some efficiency by doing this, but it keeps costs far lower - which we think is key to iterating quickly, and opening up some o…

> we’re focusing on a lower cost system, and a larger payload which will enable more use cases. So you want to beat Airbus but also be cheaper. And do it with off-the-shelf components too, because those specialized ones are just too expensive. Not to say it's impossible but wow

the main cost is labor. Airbus probably has >1k people working on that project.

Re: Launch HN: Radical (YC W23) – Autonomous high-altitude solar aircraft

#183

Post by Juicyy »

1024core wrote: post #161
jthomaslm wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wildland forest fires were actually the inspiration for this technology! A year ago Seattle had the worst air quality in the world for a few days, which piqued my interest in the area. Speaking to people in the USFS we learned about the challenges of getting real-time high-resolution data, and realized that an ultra long endurance drone would be a great way to get this.

You know what would be really helpful in such a use case? Thermal imaging. Now I'll admit I know nothing about Thermal Imaging, but I imagine if it was possible to get a live high resolution thermal image of an area, you could identify hotspots quickly. Heck, even for SAR missions, being able to thermal image a large area and look for warm bodies may be very useful. Of course I have no idea if this is feasible or not…

its very feasible with satellites and drones run by DARPA or USAF. Even helicopters use IR and "night vision". the sensing systems are expensive

Re: Launch HN: Radical (YC W23) – Autonomous high-altitude solar aircraft

#184

Post by Juicyy »

crabbone wrote: post #115
pierrekin wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am possibly wrong about small details, and would appreciate corrections. So when I joined the project, the physical aircraft was based in the USA, but the software team for the autopilot was based in the UK. For some reason - I think it was the very high altitude capability - the USA considered the autopilot to be munitions. When I first joined the project, there was this bizzare situation where it turned out to be…

Re' sending an entire aircraft over the ocean vs. sending software over the internet: you'd be surprised, but it's still often the case. I worked for a storage company that made a long-distance replication product (i.e. a program that allows one to store their data both locally and far away in a reasonable time-frame). We were contacted at some point by a movie production company which had this problem of moving the…

AWS has this its an 18 wheeler called "snowmobile" literally a mini data center on wheels for transporting.

Re: Launch HN: Radical (YC W23) – Autonomous high-altitude solar aircraft

#185

Post by jeremyjacob »

nine_k wrote: post #164
hermitcrab wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The standard story arc for something like this is that it is pitched as a humanitarian/environmental technology, but it is the military that provide the money and that where it gets used. I'm not being overly judgemental - the good guys (e.g. Ukraine) need good military tech. But lets not kid ourselves.

Basically any technology that makes any difference will have a military value, and will be used by the military. One of the few things that are not obviously, if in any way at all, usable for any military purposes is targeted advertising. Whether it's used by the good guys more is an interesting topic.

I receive targeted recruitment ads from the U.S. Army and Navy frequently. Targeted advertising appears to be a valuable tool in encouraging young people to join the military.

Re: Launch HN: Radical (YC W23) – Autonomous high-altitude solar aircraft

#187

Post by quickthrower2 »

nl wrote: post #171
pj_mukh wrote: post #10

Wow, 10cm live view for complete situational awareness of forest fires feels like it should be a game changer. Can we make sure someone (if not you guys) fully builds this service on your flights for the fire service?

Why does forest fires need 10cm resolution? I'm fairly familiar that space (in Australia though) and I've never heard that requirement. There are other fields where 10cm resolution is required though, obviously.

Might be great for preventing the spread of small fires that just started. Dump some chemicals on it 10 minutes later and prevent a bigger problem.

Re: Launch HN: Radical (YC W23) – Autonomous high-altitude solar aircraft

#188

Post by quickthrower2 »

TruthWillHurt wrote: post #94

Stop. This is not a valid startup and a waste of your time. I say this with a heavy heart as I know you're passionate, but numerous failed startups of my own tought me to be critical in thinking. What is you're "secret sauce"? How hard is it to replicate/exceed your efforts? I'm afraid the answers are "we put a lot of engineering work into it" and "not much, as we're just two guys and the army/google/fb have hundreds…

How do you know? They may have a fine strategy here. In any case the world needs experts in these things so worst case it becomes a non unicorn business and makes a nice profit.

Re: Launch HN: Radical (YC W23) – Autonomous high-altitude solar aircraft

#190

Post by hermitcrab »

nine_k wrote: post #164
hermitcrab wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The standard story arc for something like this is that it is pitched as a humanitarian/environmental technology, but it is the military that provide the money and that where it gets used. I'm not being overly judgemental - the good guys (e.g. Ukraine) need good military tech. But lets not kid ourselves.

Basically any technology that makes any difference will have a military value, and will be used by the military. One of the few things that are not obviously, if in any way at all, usable for any military purposes is targeted advertising. Whether it's used by the good guys more is an interesting topic.

Bad actors are using ad tech to subvert democracy (cf Cambridge Analytica).
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