Ryan Oksenhorn

@likeavass @Keller Which parts do you think have been sped up, and what’s enabling that speed up?

@Keller I wonder if it actually will take a decade for those starting now. The slope is ever steeper. Your larger point holds but I’m optimistic about the timeline.

The Bitter Lesson of Robotics: It's extremely easy to make a video of a robot doing something once under perfect conditions then post it to X. But it often takes a decade to harden systems and design for all the insane edge cases of the real world. Many companies raising $$$$ on cool demos, but all the hard work comes after

the real world isn't a clean room

gm california

@someguyjack Yes, shouldn’t that lead to more usage?

@ryanzip On weekends some people go home.

but what could explain the two-day dips each week?

@bolayer That many people stop building to listen to the musician?

@ryanzip the weekend lmao

@intspg some good ol' manual labor, if you will

@ryanzip They like to be hands on ok

@physhivi @JohnnyG39179521 @zipline not something we've shared a deep-dive on yet, but there's a lot more sensing happening than you are picturing. By a lot.

@ryanzip @JohnnyG39179521 @zipline I need to read up more…… or am I missing something obvious? Surely it’s not just Kalman Filters right? It’s gotta have a measurement step from some sensor.

Almost blown away by this high wind @zipline testing

@Fex_23_ @fabinulleins @zipline Yes, this is wind >60mph. I'd love to see another vtol-capable winged aircraft beat this performance!

@fabinulleins @ryanzip @zipline I think you greatly underestimate the windspeed. Given the size of this drone the motors already seem to pull really hard to be able to stabilize it. I would guess that they also cranked up the controller gain to get this to work. But in the end just speculations from my side

@fabinulleins @Fex_23_ @zipline And accounts for every ms of latency in the system

@fabinulleins @Fex_23_ @zipline Control loop runs faster than you’re expecting

@physhivi @JohnnyG39179521 @zipline It’s even smarter than that. GPS fails, IMUs drift

@ryanzip @JohnnyG39179521 @zipline Wait what? I understand you can replace PID with a different control algorithm but pitot tubes? Or are you fusing GPS and IMU measurements to obtain your fix on velocity? Which I must say, you will get good accuracy in the direction of motion. Will be happy to understand more!

@fabinulleins @Fex_23_ @zipline You’re wildly underestimating how strong our controls team is and how sophisticated this controller is

@Fex_23_ @ryanzip @zipline @ryanzip did somebody measure actual reaction times from input to output?

Let’s talk about Zipline’s test sites and who we’re hiring for 🧵 They are where elite talent meets 24/7 large scale high volume testing. They’re the engine that helped scale Zipline to the largest autonomous delivery service on earth, 5,000+ autonomous trips around the world and we’re just getting started. @zipline's testing in 2025: 315,000+ test flights 🚀 35,000+ flight hours (480+ straight days of nonstop flying) 🙂‍ 3,000+ flights per day 📈 Our test sites are built to push our system to the max so that we de-risk tomorrow. Each one tackles a different brutal edgecase to make sure the system’s reliability is bulletproof. Our 'engineering test site' in the video I posted is reconfigured every few weeks: new obstacles are added, new flight apps reviewed, new edge cases are tested in any weather condition. Every new software build deploys here first, into live airspace. Our other sites are placed around the U.S. and are focused on testing in severe conditions that ground most if not all other forms of transport. They operate in scorching heat of up to 125 degrees, high-altitudes, intense rainstorms, 60+ mph winds, hail, sleet, and extreme cold-weather, down to -20F. Heavy ice and snow accumulation on propulsion and sensors is the norm. We aggressively chase these conditions in test so we dominate when it really matters. We are now developing 5+ new test sites, each one dialed in to push even more extreme weather and edge conditions. What I am especially proud of is that our safety has kept improving even as flight volume, complexity and environmental hostility increases. We’ve been able to test and develop at a scale that’s unprecedented in aviation history because our teams own a 100% fully vertical tech stack, built hand in hand with our flight and application software teams. We have to have the most robust airspace and fleet management tools on earth because Zipline will soon operate the largest fleet of aircraft on earth. Now to the fun part, we're hiring! DM me or send me an email to marcus@zipline.com if you want to join Zipline Test Operations! We're hiring Flight Test Operators, Test Site Operators, Flight Test Electricians, Flight Test Construction Staff, Flight Test Project and Program Managers, Flight Test Engineers, Flight Test Safety Managers, Flight Test Security and, most importantly, Flight and Fleet Application Software Engineers. Please, cut to the chase. We have zero requirements on degrees, formal education or tenure. What counts is what you can do, merit, and what you’ve shown you’re capable of. Highlight that. Let's go!

@CeoNunneley Voting-based expansion coming soon

@ryanzip Would love to get my small rural town onto your list (we're near your current ops already)

Even in big storms, Zipline delivers

@4211i @zipline data like this helps us improve. Before long, docking in this wind will be fast&easy and we'll seek out stronger winds.

@zipline drone autonomously docking on the bay installed on a mobile testing truck, a testing truck driving to the worst places and conditions for flying those advanced delivery drones, but still, after quite some back and forth, eventually successfully docks in very high winds:

@roman_koshchei @zipline This entire system is purpose-built in-house from the ground up

@ryanzip @zipline Does Zipline writes Flight Controller firmware by themself or they are based on something like Ardupilot?

@2dadsCoffeeCo @zipline Yes, one composite layup from head to toe, motor to motor

@ryanzip @zipline Man that airframe is super stiff!

@JohnnyG39179521 @zipline This relies on neither of those technologies

@ryanzip @zipline Thats some finely tuned PID's and pitot calibration