Building Better with Brandon Bartneck

Latest Episodes:

#66 – Jack McCauley | Innovation, Electrified Vehicles, Virtual Reality & More Sep 05, 2021

Show notes

Jack McCauley was co-founder and chief engineer at Oculus VR, and is Jack McCauley is Innovator-in-Residence, Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation at the UC Berkeley College of Engineering, an American Engineer, Car Expert, Inventor, Hardware Designer, Gaming & Gaming-Interface Developer and Philanthropist.

Key topics in this conversation include:

Encouraging innovation
The biggest opportunities for significant improvements to the latest electric vehicles
What Jack and his students have learned while building and improving their own electric and hybrid vehicles
The two most valuable pieces of career advice that Jack gives his students
The current state of Virtual Reality technology, and most promising applications for the transportation sector

Links

Show notes: http://brandonbartneck.com/futureofmobility/jackmccauley
Jack’s personal site: http://jackmccauley.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-j-mccauley-9237bb5/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jackmccauley1

Jack’s Bio:

Jack McCauley is Innovator-in-Residence, Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation at the UC Berkeley College of Engineering, an American Engineer, Car Expert, Inventor, Hardware Designer, Gaming & Gaming-Interface Developer and Philanthropist. He is best known as a co-founder and former chief engineer at Oculus VR, a pioneering company in the field of Virtual Reality, which was acquired by Facebook for $2.3 Billion in 2014. Jack is also known for his work in designing the guitar-and-drum interface for the 2005 cultural phenomenon, the Guitar Hero video game series, and is also credited for inventing the first scrolling feature for the computer mouse. Aside from being one of the originators of the USB port standard, Jack also holds numerous U.S. patents for inventions in software, audio effects, virtual reality, motion control, computer peripherals, and video game hardware and controllers.

Jack currently sits as a Board Trustee at his alma mater, UC Berkeley College of Engineering. He is also an avid philanthropist in the areas of education and science, where his efforts and contributions led to the recent establishment of the McCauley Chair in Drug Policy Innovation at the RAND Corporation, aimed at supporting fact-based drug policy research to improve the health and well-being of communities around the world.

Future of Mobility:

The Future of Mobility podcast is focused on the development and implementation of safe, sustainable, and equitable mobility solutions, with a spotlight on the people and technology advancing these fields.

linkedin.com/in/brandonbartneck/

brandonbartneck.com/futureofmobility/

Music credit: Slow Burn Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

#65 – Kevin Antcliff | Xwing – Regional Air Mobility, NASA, Autonomous & Electric Aircraft Aug 29, 2021

Show notes

Kevin Antcliff is the Product Lead of Xwing, a startup whose mission is to dramatically increase human mobility using fully autonomous aerial vehicles

Key topics in this conversation include:

What Kevin learned in nearly a decade of work on electrified aircraft at NASA
The promise of regional air mobility
The history of automated flight
How Xwing is approaching autonomous aircraft development
The role of autonomous flight in enabling sustainable, efficient, and convenient regional flight for cargo and passengers

Links

Show notes: http://brandonbartneck.com/futureofmobility/kevinantcliff
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinantcliff/
Xwing website: xwing.com
Xwing LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/xwing/
Regional Air Mobility paper: bit.ly/rampaper

Kevin’s Bio:

Kevin Antcliff is the Product Lead of Xwing, a startup whose mission is to dramatically increase human mobility using fully autonomous aerial vehicles. Kevin is passionate about making the joy of flight affordable, sustainable, and accessible for all. Kevin joined Xwing from NASA where he was the Deputy Lead of Emerging Applications and Technologies in the Aeronautics Systems Analysis Branch. In this role, he led the development of a white paper in collaboration with experts from industry and academia to cast a vision for Regional Air Mobility. He also served as the Co-PI on the High-efficiency Electrified Aircraft Thermal Research, or HEATheR, project and led the design of several electric and hybrid-electric aircraft concepts including the Parallel Electric-Gas Architecture with Synergistic Utilization Scheme (PEGASUS) concept and multiple Urban Air Mobility concepts within the Revolutionary Vertical Lift Technology (RVLT) project. Kevin earned his BS and MS in Aerospace Engineering from Virginia Tech.

About Xwing

Xwing is the first company to introduce autonomous technology for regional air cargo. With the goal of meeting growing unmet logistics demand, Xwing’s human-operated software stack seamlessly integrates with existing aircraft to enable regional pilotless flight. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, CA.

Future of Mobility:

linkedin.com/in/brandonbartneck/
brandonbartneck.com/futureofmobility/

Music credit: Slow Burn Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

#64 – Nathan Armstrong | Aptera – 1,000 Miles of Range in a Solar Electric Vehicle Aug 22, 2021

Show notes

Nathan Armstrong is CTO of Aptera Motors.

Key topics in this conversation include:

Challenges and benefits of utilizing a solar roof
Vehicle design choices to minimize weight and improve sustainability
The importance of weight and drag reduction when developing a sustainable vehicle – even (or especially) if it’s an EV
Tom Robbins, Terry Pratchett, and Douglas Adams

Links

Show notes: http://brandonbartneck.com/futureofmobility/nathanarmstrong
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mitch-marks-3bb25782/
Aptera website: http://www.aptera.us
Aptera Twitter: @aptera_motors
Aptera LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/apteramotors

Nathan’s Bio:

Nathan Armstrong is a design engineer, business entrepreneur, and CTO of Aptera Motors. He has previously had various roles in the aerospace and automotive sectors with Arrowhead Products, Metalcrafters, Aria Group, Boeing, Motive Industries, Draganfly Drones, Havelaar, Genesis Robotics, and ACF.

Nathan has received a few awards for business and engineering work, including: Top 40 under 40, Alberta Venture Business Person of the Year, TechRev award for Technology Innovation, ASTech Honouree Award in the field of Technology Futures, ABCTech Entrepreneur of the Month, Popular Science Innovation Award and Law Enforcement Award for Best New Vehicle.

About Aptera

Aptera Motors delivers the world’s most technologically advanced solar electric vehicles (sEVs), made possible by breakthroughs in battery efficiency, aerodynamics, material science, and manufacturing. A lightweight three-wheeler, Aptera is the first in a series of eco-friendly vehicles that will be offered for consumer and commercial use. It has the longest range of any production vehicle with 1,000 miles per charge and the ability to travel up to 46 miles a day on free power from its integrated solar panels. With only four key structural parts, Aptera’s unique body shape allows it to slip through the air using far less energy than other electric and hybrid vehicles on the road today. Learn more and configure your vehicle at www.aptera.us.

Future of Mobility:

linkedin.com/in/brandonbartneck/
brandonbartneck.com/futureofmobility/

Music credit: Slow Burn Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

#63 – Mitch Marks | HBK – Test Equipment for EVs and More Aug 15, 2021

Show notes

Mitch Marks is in business development for electrification at HBK.

Key topics in this conversation include:

- Testing of electric vehicles

- How electrification has put additional pressure on the performance of measurement equipment

- The challenge of communicating technically complex topics to a wide range of audiences

- Why electrification has changed much more than the powertrain

- Parallels to industries outside of automotive

Links

· Show notes: http://brandonbartneck.com/futureofmobility/mitchmarks

· LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mitch-marks-3bb25782/

· HBK: https://www.hbm.com/en/3153/electrical-machine-and-powertrain-testing/

Mitch’s Bio:

Mitch has worked in electric motor development for 8 years and specializes in the test and measurement of traction motors and drives. He focuses on developing new testing techniques and accelerating the development process through testing. He has been with HBK since 2017 as a member of the electric power testing team. He has an undergraduate and a master's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Wisconsin – Madison WEMPEC program.

About HBK

HBK (Hottinger, Brüel & Kjær) provides scalable test and validation solutions that enables engineers in transportation, aerospace and defense, and telecom markets to cut time-to-market, drive innovation, and take the lead in a highly competitive global marketplace. HBK offers technology for sensing, data acquisition, data analytics and simulation to cover all aspects of product design, development and deployment. Key applications include electric power train performance calibration, durability testing, and electromechanical analysis.

Future of Mobility:

linkedin.com/in/brandonbartneck/

brandonbartneck.com/futureofmobility/

Music credit: Slow Burn Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

#62 – Ryan Duffy | Emerging Tech Brew – Autonomous, Electric Vehicles & Key Tech Affecting Mobility Aug 08, 2021

Show notes

Ryan Duffy launched Emerging Tech Brew and is an emerging tech writer at Morning Brew.

Key topics in this conversation include:

Emerging Tech Brew’s transformation into a media company
The state of ADAS/AD, including Ryan’s experience riding in driverless Waymo vehicles
The state of the electric vehicle market
Ryan’s deep dive into artificial intelligence
Trends to keep an eye on

Links

Show notes: http://brandonbartneck.com/futureofmobility/ryanduffy2
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rfduffy/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RyanfDuffy
Ryan’s personal site: https://xn--8p9h.fm/
Emerging Tech Brew: link
Electrified Aircraft with Max Liben: http://brandonbartneck.com/futureofmobility/maxliben
Electrification for mining, marine, and industrial equipment with Kimmo Rauma: http://brandonbartneck.com/futureofmobility/kimmorauma

Ryan’s Bio:

Ryan is an emerging tech writer at Morning Brew. Over two years ago, he launched Emerging Tech Brew, a newsletter that has evolved into a media franchise with a team of four and 300,000+ subscribers. Ryan's beat spans machine learning, robots, digital assets, and all the other technologies shaping the future of business. Ryan's writing has previously appeared in the New York Times, the Verge, the Texas Tribune, and a number of print magazines.

About Emerging Tech Brew:

Emerging Tech Brew is the tech-focused publication of Morning Brew. The flagship product, a newsletter, goes out thrice a week to technologists around the world. In addition to the newsletter, Emerging Tech Brew publishes everything from reported stories to long-form guides. Morning Brew is a media company committed to helping young professionals become smarter in minutes. The company started with a single daily email newsletter and now produce a portfolio of podcasts, videos, events, and newsletters (naturally!) that guarantee to inform and entertain.

Future of Mobility:

linkedin.com/in/brandonbartneck/

brandonbartneck.com/futureofmobility/

Music credit: Slow Burn Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

#61 – Charlie Levine| ElectReon – Wireless Charging for Electric Vehicles Aug 01, 2021

Show notes

Charlie Levine is Chief Marketing Officer at ElectReon

Key topics in this conversation include:

How wireless charging for electric vehicles works
ElectReon’s role in enabling smaller battery packs and consequently more environmentally friendly electric vehicles
Common objections to wireless charging and how these are overcome
ElectReon’s decision to offer financing options for charging system installations
Commercialization of wireless charging

Links

Show notes: http://brandonbartneck.com/futureofmobility/charlielevine
Charlie’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlie-levine-171a444a/
Electreon website: https://www.electreon.com/

Charlie’s Bio:

Before joining ElectReon, Charlie held several key positions in marketing and business development in several Israeli start-ups including, Moovit - the Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) provider. There she built and scaled Growth and Operations teams and was responsible for multiple new markets and regions for the company. Charlie holds a BA Magna Cum Lauda in Middle Eastern Studies from University College of London (UCL) and an MA Magna Cum Laudain Sustainability and Environmental Studies from Tel Aviv University, where she specialized in sustainable business models for off-grid wastewater projects in the Global South.

About ElectReon:

ElectReon is the leading provider of wireless charging solutions for electric vehicles (EVs), providing end-to-end charging infrastructure and services to meet the needs and efficiency demands of commercial fleet operators and consumers. The company’s proprietary inductive technology dynamically (while in motion) and statically (while stopped) charges EVs quickly and safely, eliminating range anxiety, lowering total costs of EV ownership, and reducing battery capacity needs—making it one of the most environmentally sustainable, scalable, and compelling charging solutions available today. For more information, visit electreon.com.

Future of Mobility:

linkedin.com/in/brandonbartneck/
brandonbartneck.com/futureofmobility/

Music credit: Slow Burn Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

#60 – Sandra Witzel | SkedGo – Mobility-as-a-Service, Accessibility, & Sustainability Jul 25, 2021

Show notes

Sandra Witzel is Chief Marketing Officer at SkedGo.

Key topics in this conversation include:

The role of Mobility-as-a-Service in the mobility ecosystem
The current state of MaaS, and key developments on the horizon
Common misconceptions about accessibility
How SkedGo is addressing sustainability while also increasing user convenience
The big “aha” moment that propelled Sandra’s marketing efforts

Links

Show notes: http://brandonbartneck.com/futureofmobility/sandrawitzel
Sandra’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandrawitzel/
SkedGo website: https://skedgo.com/

Sandra’s Bio:

Sandra Witzel is Chief Marketing Officer and Board Member at SkedGo, a company that provides the technological building blocks enabling governments, leading start-ups and corporations to develop their own tailored mobility solutions, quickly and cost-effectively. Based in London, Sandra has worked remotely for several years.

Sandra began her tech career in Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), moving on to marketing roles in online gaming and fintech. Upon taking up her position at SkedGo, Sandra helped the team transition from a B2C company to a well-known B2B technology operator.

About SkedGo:

SkedGo was founded in 2009. Its HQ is in Sydney, Australia and the enterprise has teams in Germany, UK, Vietnam and Argentina. SkedGo provides the technological building blocks, which include its award-winning TripGo API, to create optimal MaaS solutions for governments, leading start-ups and corporations.

In 2016, TripGo spin-off RioGo won the official Rio Olympic City Transport challenge for the Olympic games. In 2017, SkedGo was named Gartner Cool Vendor for Smart Cities Applications and Solutions. Also in 2017, SkedGo won the Smart Cities & Accessibility Challenge run by the NSW Department of Finance, Service and Innovation with Transport for NSW and Slingshot to include more features for wheelchair users.

In 2018, TripGo was named ‘Best Smartphone App’ by industry publication Business MaaS. Strategic consultancy Ptolemus nominated SkedGo as ‘Best Mobility Platform Provider’ in 2019.

In 2020, SkedGo was awarded Smart City Platform of the year at the Future Digital Awards.

Future of Mobility:

linkedin.com/in/brandonbartneck/

brandonbartneck.com/futureofmobility/

Music credit: Slow Burn Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

#59 – Max Liben | H3X – Integrated Motor Drives for Electric Aircraft Jul 18, 2021

Show notes

Max Liben is co-founder and CTO of H3X.

Key topics in this conversation include:

How electrified Regional Air Mobility (RAM) can have a huge impact on the mobility sector
The need for drastically improved electric drives to enable widespread electric flight
How H3X is reimaging electric drives from the ground-up
Key levers H3X is pulling to radically exceed the state-of-the-art for electric drive performance and efficiency
Lessons learned from Max’s experience with Y Combinator

Links

Show notes: http://brandonbartneck.com/futureofmobility/maxliben
Max’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/max-liben/
H3X website: https://www.h3x.tech/
NASA Regional Air Mobility (RAM) report: https://sacd.larc.nasa.gov/ram/

Max’s Bio:

Max Liben received his B.S. degree in mechanical engineering and his M.S. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. During his undergraduate studies, he co-founded the engineering student organization Wisconsin Racing Formula SAE Electric and went on to design high power density in-hub motors for their electric racecar. During his graduate studies, he was a Research Assistant to Prof. Daniel C. Ludois at the Wisconsin Electric Machines and Power Electronics Consortium (WEMPEC), with a research focus on permanent magnet ring machines with integrated propellers. After graduation, he worked at Tesla as a Powertrain Performance Modeling Engineer before co-founding H3X Technologies, where he is currently developing high-performance integrated motor drives for flight applications.

About H3X:

H3X makes high performance integrated motor drives for electric aircraft. They are small group of elite specialists that are laser-focused on developing advanced electric propulsion technology to enable sustainable aviation. The company was founded by former Tesla and SpaceX engineers who built electric racecars together in college. Their Skunkworks-style operation allows them to iterate and innovate rapidly, and in an industry that is ripe for disruption, H3X is poised to emerge as a new leader.

Future of Mobility:

linkedin.com/in/brandonbartneck/

brandonbartneck.com/futureofmobility/

Music credit: Slow Burn Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

#58 – Shweta Shrivastava | Waymo – Autonomous Driving and Product Leadership Jul 11, 2021

Show notes

Shweta Shrivastava is Senior Product Leader at Waymo, leading product management for autonomous driving capabilities.

Key topics in this conversation include:

Waymo’s mission to make it safe and easy for people and things to get where they’re going
Benefits of focusing on fully automated driving
Keys to successful product management
How Waymo is learning from real-world applications, including their fleet in Phoenix
How Shweta is leveraging experience gained in past roles with Nauto, Amazon, Cisco, and McKinsey

Links:

· Show notes: http://brandonbartneck.com/futureofmobility/shwetashrivastava
· Shweta’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shshrivastava/
· Waymo’s website: https://waymo.com/

Future of Mobility:

linkedin.com/in/brandonbartneck/

brandonbartneck.com/futureofmobility/

Music credit: Slow Burn Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

#57 – Danielle Harris | Elemental Excelerator – Inspiring Action to Fight Climate Change Jul 04, 2021

Show notes

Danielle Harris is Managing Director of Engagement & Innovation at Elemental Excelerator.

Key topics in this conversation include:

How Danielle is helping to inspire action in the push for social justice and climate action goals
Why we should be optimistic, despite all of the climate challenges we’re facing
Proactively identifying and overcoming the common challenges that founders face
Common misconceptions regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion
Elemental Excelator’s 5-Year Strategy

Links:

Show notes: http://brandonbartneck.com/futureofmobility/danielleharris
Danielle’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/innovation_dj
Danielle’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/djlanharris/
Elemental Excelarator’s website: https://elementalexcelerator.com/
Elemental Excelerator’s 5-Year Strategy: https://elementalexcelerator.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Elemental-5Y-Strategy-Scaling-Climate-x-Social-Equity-Solutions.pdf

Danielle’s Bio:

A passionate advocate for environmental and racial justice, Danielle oversees Elemental’s “Inspire Action” pillar of its 5-Year Strategy, committed to invigorating the hearts and minds of the many to reach our social justice and climate action goals. Previously, Danielle led Elemental’s mobility strategy and portfolio as Director of Mobility Innovation, working directly with Elemental’s mobility portfolio companies, partners and cities to catalyze collaboration within the transportation industry. As a thought leader in new mobility, Danielle provides a systems approach to help both startups and companies strategize and thrive within the ever-evolving transportation revolution. She sees mobility as a vital tool to resolve the challenges of today and unlock the potential of tomorrow. At Elemental, Danielle has worked with notable water companies such as Xos Trucks, ChargerHelp!, Ampaire, Scoot, Proterra.

Prior to Elemental Excelerator: Danielle was the Innovation Strategist for San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s (SFMTA) Office of Innovation. She integrated her background in land use and transportation planning to create dynamic teams with both city departments and tech companies. Danielle used the city’s physical and companies’ digital infrastructure to implement pilots that focus on the user experience. By designing for hearts and minds, these pilots successfully improved roadway safety, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and addressed environmental inequities. After nine years with the City and County of San Francisco, she came to Elemental Excelerator to harness the power of tech to solve the big problems of climate change and environmental injustice. A proud Bay Area Native and Oakland resident, Danielle’s approach is rooted in genuine curiosity, collaboration, and compassion. She is committed to bringing different voices to the table to build unconventional teams that together develop innovative and holistic solutions centered around people.

Future of Mobility:

linkedin.com/in/brandonbartneck/

brandonbartneck.com/futureofmobility/

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Building Better with Brandon Bartneck

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected