
Approximating teleportation @zipline
San Francisco, CA
Joined April 2012
- Tweets1.2K
- Following148
- Followers322
- Likes449
Pinned Tweet
It's hard to control my nerd excitement! Check out our new #space community @DownlinkSpace! downlink.co
Eric Watson retweeted
Drone delivery is about to be cheaper than cars. But the drone is only 15% of the work to get there.
A decade after starting in Rwanda flying blood to one hospital, @zipline has flown 140M+ autonomous miles with zero safety incidents, expanded to the US and to food delivery and household items, and delivery costs have fallen from $300 to $12 - now cheaper than a car.
Getting there meant building almost everything from scratch: flight computers, motors, GPS modules, even the air traffic software regulators use to track them. And it meant a discipline most engineers find nearly impossible.
That's the reality behind Zipline, the largest autonomous system on Earth. @Keller and @EricWattage joined me and @gradypb to talk more about their journey.
00:00 Introduction
02:28 Early Vision and Regulation
04:09 Rwanda Launch Hard Lessons
06:49 Scaling to 24/7 Impact
09:35 Real World Ops Surprises
11:15 Safety Redundancy Failover
20:24 Precision Delivery Pod Tech
25:34 Building the Drone Network
26:51 Fleet Commanders Explained
28:22 Scaling to a Million a Day
29:51 Autonomy Enables 24 7 Ops
31:52 Reinventing Air Traffic Control
36:08 Why Zipline Is Vertical
41:40 First Principles Delete Parts
44:45 Market Explosion and Closing Thoughts
Eric Watson retweeted
In 2023, every 120 million miles driven in the U.S. meant 700+ crashes, 100+ injuries, and at least one fatality.
This week, Zipline crossed 120 million miles flown with zero injuries, while saving thousands of lives per year in the process — all 100% autonomously.
Replying to @friedberg
@friedberg cheering for you and team at @ohalo!! Important mission and big opportunity.
FYI the “view opening” link in the foyer of your website doesn’t lead anywhere. It seems it should go to the greenhouse website roles list.
Eric Watson retweeted
i had the thrill and honor to chat with astronaut (and fellow Cal alum) @Astro_Woody, from the @Space_Station yesterday. really fun convo on a wide range of topics. full video..
Eric Watson retweeted
@zipline and @WalmartInc are teaming up to bring a first-of-its-kind drone delivery service to homes in the United States!
corporate.walmart.com/newsro…
Eric Watson retweeted
8:15pm - Emergency order received, 9 day old in critical condition
8:20pm @RwandaAirports clears the flight
8:25pm drone departs for 105km blood delivery
9:05pm blood delivered, baby recovering
9:40pm drone recovers, another patient served, another mission complete
Eric Watson retweeted
Zipline is growing! Check out flyzipline.com/jobs for roles in Biz Dev, Controls Eng., Embedded Eng., Build team, People Ops, & more!
Eric Watson retweeted
⚡️ “Launching weekend service in 3, 2, 1...” Check out a day in the life of @Zipline #Rwanda on our ⛈️ 1st Sat!
xitter.cf/i/moments/856838257014…
Eric Watson retweeted
Think lifesaving drones are amazing? Want to build something that matters (+ enjoy this view)? @zipline is hiring! flyzipline.com/jobs
Eric Watson retweeted
He's a pro! Thank you for your support, President Kagame. We are honored to be part of #Rwanda #health delivery. #MedDronesRw xitter.cf/urugwirovillage/status…
Eric Watson retweeted
Be the first to access our real-time alerts API medium.com/@astrodigital/rea… xitter.cf/astrodigitalgeo/status… – at San Francisco, CA
@EscapeDynamics A beamed energy space access cost reduction discussion started on Downlink. Join here: downlink.co/posts/PdWcAHYbr3…
Eric Watson retweeted
If you love #space, come join us to discover, share, and discuss today's top space stories! downlink.co
Check out a post about @rocketlabusa on Downlink! downlink.co/posts/gpiwW5s8Qv…
.@grantbonin @scottearmitage the new #space community Downlink. #SmallSat2015 downlink.co/posts/bWtecosAdN… (2/2)
.@grantbonin @scottearmitage, Awesome work at #SFL with CanX4/5... I just shared and asked some questions I'd love to hear your insight on..
I wish I could be at #SmallSat2015! I'll have to nerd out at downlink.co/ instead...














