David Merrill

🚀 Join us on July 25th for an insightful leadership webinar! Duann Scott, David Heiny, and I will discuss the newest developments in computational design and AI, address common challenges, and explain how to leverage AI with your own data. Don't miss this chance to stay ahead in engineering! #Leadership #AI #ComputationalDesign #Webinar

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Really great article on Space! Highlights Rocket Lab and their mission of small launches their Electron rocket has filled. It goes on to discuss the Neutron that is a medium lift vehicle. Rocket lab focuses on the taxi service where it takes individual payloads to specific orbits, but the new Neutron rocket is meant to compete with SpaceX and its Falcon 9. The article further discussed start ups, such as Relativity Space and ABL Space Systems. I was quoted around the maturity of businesses in this segment and discussed M&A activity. I highlighted that, "... for a company to be a consolidation target it needs some enterprise value; it needs sales and employees and contracts." I further went on to say that, "... those pure-play space companies, they are going to have a harder time because it is a slower cycle, versus a company that gets into space with a diversified book of business and will probably be more successful." #aerospace #space #mergersandacquisitions #thefactorydoctor https://lnkd.in/gsNrw2cA

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As we begin 2025, I'm proud to announce that Vertical Aerospace has selected Monolith's AI platform to optimise the development of their VX4 eVTOL aircraft. Our technology will support their exceptional engineering team in advancing the future of sustainable aviation.

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🎥 No pod episode this week as I catch up on editing, but I wanted to highlight something I found interesting 🤔 💡And that is the surge in new space startups! Just check out some of the companies / speakers featured at this year's #TechCrunchDisrupt: 🚀 Peter Beck, the CEO of Rocket Lab 🔥 Justin Fiaschetti, the CEO of Inversion 🛰️ Topher Haddad, CEO of Albedo 🚀 Andy Lapsa, CEO of Stoke Space 📡 Bridgit Mendler, CEO of Northwood 💻 Jordan Noone, Co-Founder of Embedded Ventures ☄️ Chris Pearson, CEO of Agile Space Industries 🦾 Lee Rosen, CEO of ThinkOrbital 🚨 Tim Solms, CEO of Slingshot Aerospace 📈 Not on this list are the amazing VC firms helping these startups scale—firms like Andreessen Horowitz, Bessemer Venture Partners, Lightspeed, Sequoia Capital, Lux Capital, Y Combinator and others. These founders and their VC partners are pushing space innovation forward. With the Starship era and dropping launch costs, expect some bold ideas ahead. Stay tuned as we cover it all on the pod! 🎧 #TechCrunchDisrupt #VentureCapital #Spacestartups #spacetech #startups #VC #investment #techstartups #deeptech #siliconvalley #tech #founders #starship

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Interfaces are the key to great team flow. In spacecraft mission development, interface reviews are critical. They ensure that every system, subsystem, and component works seamlessly together — whether it’s hardware, software, or ground systems. But here’s the punchline: it’s not just about the technology. It’s about the team. 1 / Defining interfaces defines collaboration Every interface is a connection point, not just between systems but between teams. When interfaces are clear, responsibilities are clear. When they’re not, teams end up working in silos—or worse, pointing fingers. 2 / Interface reviews build accountability These reviews force everyone to sit down and align. Are the signals, protocols, and connections right? Are expectations between teams clear? Good interface reviews aren’t just technical—they’re relational. 3 / Great interfaces = Great flow When interfaces are well-designed, teams can trust each other and focus on execution. They’re not worried about what happens “downstream” or “upstream.” That trust leads to better decisions and faster problem-solving. When you're leading any cross-functional team, interfaces are where flow happens. When the interfaces work, the mission works — and so does the team. Thoughts???

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In a recent interview with Paul Brinkmann of Aerospace America, a publication of AIAA, we get into some of the finer what-if details of #AAMInfrastructure standards and fire code. Understanding that this is an area of technology that is evolving daily and that what we knew yesterday is often different than what we understand today, developing standards and codes in this ever-changing landscape requires constant input from all stakeholders. That said, I encourage those who are interested to check out NFPA-418, Standard for Heliports and Vertiports, and provide Public Input as you see fit to help guide the next revision cycle. NFPA-418: https://lnkd.in/gRX2mv4w NFPA Free Access: https://lnkd.in/gfAzyXbV Vertical Flight Society Vertical Aviation International NASAO - National Association of State Aviation Officials General Aviation Manufacturers Association NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration Federal Aviation Administration NFPA Clint Harper, C.M. Nicolas Zart Raymond Syms Ricarda Bennett Kathryn Wright Jeff Wright Tom Schuman #uam #vtol #evtol #technology #advancedairmobility #vertiport #heliport #firesafety #firecode #faa #nfpa #nasa Jim Sherman

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I recently realized the most valuable aspect of #opensource software to me personally: It's that you can fix problems yourself. When I think back of the unsolved problems I've had over the years, they were all caused by proprietary software. Tech support is a time-consuming frustrating experience, and usually a dead end too. For open-source software I don't need tech support. The answers are all in the code. And I can save others some headache by contributing back. What do you think is the most valuable aspect of open-source software?

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How it feels when everything goes wrong: (The hardships of hardware development) [𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 5] I have to rewind from the spring of 2023 to the fall 2022. We hired an agent to help us fundraise in the fall of 2022. The agreement was the first part of the money on our account in February. When they failed to do that, our own investors pulled the bridge financing. Now we had 3 months before we ran out of money. It was fair enough. We had struggled with motor problems for 6 months. The progress on the flying prototype seemed very little. In the end, we found out there were manufacturing errors on them. The countdown timer is 3 months now. Fugg!! Well, Travis James Mathers and I were not ready to give up. We geared up, prepared ourselves for war. I had to fire the whole team due to Danish rules around responsibility. Here is the status at this point: - A fired team with 3 months of resignation, - A prototype with motors that had been causing problems - There is no regulatory approval to fly outside. Okay, here we go! We put in all our efforts to get regulatory approval so we could fly outside and do a demonstration for a potential customer, which would probably get us our bridge financing back. 1.5 months later, we got our regulatory approval as the only ones in Europe able to do onshore and offshore operations with this heavy drone for cargo delivery for wind turbines. 2 months later, we fly outside for the second time, and at about 25 meters of height, we have a small glitch on a motor that causes instability that makes the drone crash into the ground. At this point, all the escape hatches are open for us to jump into and give up. Double FUGG!! Follow me for the next part of the story. If you love what you do, fight for it with everything you have. -MK

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Maximizing Innovation in DFMA: The Power of an Idea Tracker In Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DFMA) events, capturing and managing ideas is crucial. Here's why PorterGear Engineering utilizes an Idea Tracker as an essential tool for continues improvement: 1. Real-time Documentation: Assign one team member to document ideas as they emerge. 2. Structured Approach: Use a form with key columns to name a few:   - Item   - Idea   - Ease of Implementation (1-5)   - Impact (1-5)   - Action 3. Prioritization System:    - Rank Ease of Implementation from 1 (very difficult) to 5 (very easy)   - Rank Impact from 1 (low impact) to 5 (high impact)   - Multiply these scores to get a priority rating (1-25)   - Higher scores indicate ideas that are easier to implement with higher impact 4. Visualization: Graph the ranked ideas to quickly identify high-priority opportunities:   - Use a scatter plot with Ease of Implementation on one axis and Impact on the other   - This creates a visual "priority matrix," highlighting quick wins and strategic initiatives 5. Feasibility Assessment: The team can then evaluate the feasibility of each idea, starting with the highest priority items. 6. Actionable Outcomes: This structure allows for quick prioritization and assignment of actions with due dates. 7. Continuous Improvement: By tracking, prioritizing, and visualizing ideas systematically, we ensure no valuable insight is lost and resources are allocated efficiently. Remember, the success of DFMA lies not just in generating ideas, but in effectively capturing, prioritizing, and implementing them. An Idea Tracker, combined with visual representation, turns brainstorming into tangible, data-driven improvements. What strategies do you use to manage, prioritize, and visualize ideas in your DFMA process? Share your thoughts below! #DFMA #ContinuousImprovement #ProductDevelopment #Manufacturing #DataVisualization

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Interesting Autonomous car behavior. You'd think that GNSS would at least inform the car of what lane they are in and direction of traffic, while the camera/lidar would determine that all the other cars are pointed the other direction...

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🧠 - 🖥 Direct communication pathway; A brain–computer interface (BCI), also called a brain–machine interface (BMI); is a direct communication link between the brain's electrical activity and an external device, most commonly a computer or robotic limb. BCIs are often directed at researching, mapping, assisting, augmenting, or repairing human cognitive or sensory-motor functions. They are often conceptualized as a human – machine interface that skips the intermediary of moving body parts (hands...), although they also raise the possibility of erasing the distinction between brain and machine. BCI implementations range from non-invasive (EEG, MEG, MRI) and partially invasive (ECoG and endovascular) to invasive (microelectrode array), based on how physically close electrodes are to brain tissue. The first direct brain-to-brain (BBI) interface in humans was demonstrated in 2013. The BBI combined electroencephalography (EEG) to record brain signals with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to deliver information to the brain. Brain-to-brain interfacing (B2BI) is a combination of BCI and neuromodulation technology that allows neural information to be transmitted directly from one brain to another. ♾️ HUMAN.1987.WOMAN

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🧠 - 🖥 Direct communication pathway; A brain–computer interface (BCI), also called a brain–machine interface (BMI); is a direct communication link between the brain's electrical activity and an external device, most commonly a computer or robotic limb. BCIs are often directed at researching, mapping, assisting, augmenting, or repairing human cognitive or sensory-motor functions. They are often conceptualized as a human – machine interface that skips the intermediary of moving body parts (hands...), although they also raise the possibility of erasing the distinction between brain and machine. BCI implementations range from non-invasive (EEG, MEG, MRI) and partially invasive (ECoG and endovascular) to invasive (microelectrode array), based on how physically close electrodes are to brain tissue. The first direct brain-to-brain (BBI) interface in humans was demonstrated in 2013. The BBI combined electroencephalography (EEG) to record brain signals with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to deliver information to the brain. Brain-to-brain interfacing (B2BI) is a combination of BCI and neuromodulation technology that allows neural information to be transmitted directly from one brain to another. ♾️ HUMAN.1987.WOMAN

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With SpaceX's rocket failure the other day, I find myself in conversations with people outside of engineering who are trying to understand "what's next" when it comes to figuring out what happened what to do about it. It seems that many people who have never participated in any kind of anomaly investigation or failure investigation don't understand the difference between a couple of what I would consider common terms: - Failure Analysis - Root Cause Analysis Failure Analysis is what we do to figure out how and why something happened. Taking an extreme case of, say, a rocket exploding unintentionally shortly after lift off, failure analysis can lead us to how and why the rocket exploded. This could involve visually inspecting the debris, reviewing any telemetry data that was collected, etc. The specific steps the team takes will be related to the specifics of the situation. But let's say they determine the rocket exploded because a fuel tank ruptured. Now, we turn to Root Cause Analysis (RCA) to help us figure out why that tank ruptured, with the goal of preventing similar failures in the future. There are also multiple methods for RCA (sometimes we refer to it as RCCA -- Root Cause *and* Correction Actions) such as the "5 Whys Technique" or creating a "Fishbone diagram." FWIW, in my experience with spacecraft anomalies, the Fishbone diagram is more common. Ideally, you get to *the* root cause, but often with spacecraft -- especially if we've lost communication with it -- we might be left with a few possibilities. In that case, we might even implement multiple corrective actions to prevent the same thing from happening. Of course I'm not privy to the details of the SpaceX investigation, but I'm certain that a team of engineers is working through some version of this as I write this! Hopefully this provides some general insight into the process, no matter what the issue or who the team is. This is akin to Engineering 201.🙂 

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My new favorite keybinding for VS Code. Ever want to have the terminal window show along the bottom quarter of the screen, but sometimes go full-screen with it? AND your trying to see how long you can go between touching that mouse? A little back and forth with the ai, added this to my keybindings.json and presto! [     {         "key": "ctrl+shift+m",         "command": "workbench.action.terminal.focus"     },     {         "key": "ctrl+shift+m",         "command": "workbench.action.toggleMaximizedPanel",         "when": "terminalFocus"     } ]

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Today, David Benhaim and I are excited to announce the Launch of Backflip. Our mission is to dramatically accelerate the pace of hardware innovation and development, for one reason — we want to live in the future. The pace of development today is limited by the tools we have — tools that were designed last century — tools that can now be turbocharged with the advent of AI. Engineers all over the world pour their hearts and souls into creating the future. They can see it in their mind, but getting their ideas into the world is slow. What if we could create at the speed of imagination? What if the tools we used were AI powered, and could learn over time? What if your simulations were so close to reality that you could actually design in the virtual world, and gather most of the insights you get from real world testing? That is the future we want to live in. And that’s what we’re building at Backflip. Now imagine every person on earth had that power. This is how we touch the stars. Today we’re releasing our first foundation model — it’s an onramp to 3D design. We’ve enabled a series of inputs — from text, to drawing, to snapping a photo with your phone — that get converted into a 3D model you can 3D print today, and use in the real world. It’s so easy, a child can do it. The next release will add precision and control for experienced engineers and designers. It’s the start of the professional tool we always wanted. Powerful. Easy to use. And precise. Backflip was founded by creators who love to build in the real world. We weld, grind, CNC machine, hand-build bicycle frames, build solar cars, race cars, lay up carbon fiber, repair swiss watches, and build products like people’s lives depend on it. And yes, we love to code. This is not our first rodeo. Prior to Backflip, we invented 3D printed carbon fiber, founded Markforged, and took it public for $2.1B. We’re incredibly proud of what we built there. Markforged parts are used in mission critical applications - on the International Space Station, in fighter jets, medical applications, and robotics. In addition to inventing a new manufacturing process, we developed a powerful and easy-to-use cloud CAD platform to design aerospace grade parts in carbon fiber and various metals. That software is used by over 50,000 designers and engineers - from high school robotics teams to aerospace engineers at NASA. Now at Backflip, we’ve hand picked a talented set of AI researchers from MIT and Caltech to transform how humans design. The biggest challenges we face are in the real world. David and I have had the pleasure of working with the greatest people tech has ever seen. Passionate. Fearless. Bold. And courageous. To the old friends we've built with before, and the new ones who will forge the road ahead - we solute you. Come build with us. https://www.backflip.ai/

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As a founder, asymmetry is your superpower. This is how you use it to win 🇺🇸🇺🇸

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TILT Autonomy was recently interviewed by The Wall Street Journal for an article featuring Defense Tech startups and Supply chain constraints. It was great to chat with Heather Somerville about the current challenges with manufacturing defense tech at scale and how far left you have to look at your supply chain. The road ahead is full of opportunities, and we’re looking forward to leading the charge in transforming how defense tech is built in the USA. Catch the full interview and our thoughts on what comes next for reshoring here: https://lnkd.in/eV7xg-9F #TILTAutonomy #Reshoring #SupplyChain #DefenseTech #MadeInUSA #Manufacturing

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Starlink is expected to add a zero to SpaceX's valuation, but Starship will be even more valuable. That's the story. So if Starlink makes SpaceX into a $2TR company, how does Starship exceed that? It isn't with conventional methods of spacecraft manufacturing or conventional payloads. Space has to mean a lot more than Earth Observation and Comms Relays. ISAM is part, data centers is part, SBSP is part, ISRU will have to play a role, but what else is needed to get to $2TR+?

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