Share

The Techne Connect
Arthur Erickson, CEO and co-founder of Hylio
Behind the Robot: Arthur Erickson, CEO and co-founder of Hylio
In this episode of The Techne Connect: Behind the Robot, host Adam Ewing interviews Arthur Erickson, CEO and co-founder of Hylio, a company revolutionizing agriculture through drone automation. Arthur shares his journey from aerospace engineering student to tech entrepreneur, the evolution of Hylio’s business model, and the challenges of leading a robotics company in a fast-moving industry.
He discusses the future of engineering skills, the importance of communication and collaboration, and Hylio’s mission-driven approach to product development and innovation. A must-listen for anyone interested in robotics, entrepreneurship, and the future of agriculture.
Thank you for listening to The Techne Connect Podcast - where we go behind the tech and ahead of the curve.
But we don’t just share stories, we help build them. At Techne Talent, we connect ambitious people with opportunities across the very industries we feature. If you’re inspired by what you hear, speak to us today about where your skills could take you.
👉 Don’t miss an episode: Follow and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
📸 For behind-the-scenes content, follow us on Instagram: @techne_talent
💼 Explore opportunities and connect with us on LinkedIn: Techne Talent
Inspire your future. Plug into what’s next.
More episodes
View all episodes

Andy Blatchford, VP of Engineering at AV
46:23|In this episode of The Techne Connect, Andy Blatchford shares his journey from farm-raised mechanical engineer to Chief Engineer in AeroVironment’s Precision Strike and Defensive Solutions group.Andy walks through his path from Raytheon Missile Systems into the drone space, including what he learned from flight testing, systems engineering rigour, and leading complex programmes under pressure. He explains why Switchblade 600 became a defining challenge, from surviving the tube-launch transition to delivering reliable guidance, navigation, target tracking, and terminal performance.The conversation covers where defence innovation is heading, including mass deployment, contested RF links, cybersecurity, MBSE, autonomy shifting from man-in-the-loop to man-off-the-loop, and the growing importance of counter-drone defence against swarms. Andy also shares what skill sets young engineers should build, and why defence offers fast feedback, high impact, and serious technical depth.
Niall McGrath, CEO at Robocean
39:06|In this episode of Behind the Robot, we speak with Niall McGrath, founder and CEO of Robocean.Niall shares how Robocean uses amphibious robots to scale seagrass restoration, helping organisations meet environmental compensation requirements. He also covers founder lessons, early field trials, and why robotics is becoming essential for marine recovery at scale.This episode offers clear insight into robotics for environmental impact and building technology with real world purpose.
Zamiyad Dar, Senior Director Energy Storage at Pivot Energy
01:08:43|In this episode of Behind the Power we speak with Zamiyad Dar, Senior Director of Energy Storage at Pivot Energy.Zamiyad shares his path from power systems engineering in Pakistan to a PhD in the US, then into roles at GE, New York ISO, Entergy, and finally Pivot Energy. He explains how early work integrating a large scale flywheel energy storage system shaped his confidence, and why taking risks and learning through failure became central to his approach.The conversation covers how grids are changing under rising demand from data centres, why market and interconnection processes need to catch up, and how storage fits into the system. Zamiyad also outlines the reality gap between planning models and the equipment available in the market, plus the challenge of hiring experienced storage talent.
Andrew Rush, Co-Founder and CEO of Star Catcher
42:01|In this episode we speak with Andrew Rush, co-founder and CEO of Star Catcher, about building the world’s first energy grid in space.Andrew shares his path from physics into patent law, then into space entrepreneurship, including his experience scaling Made In Space. He explains why customers buy capability, not technology, and how Star Catcher breaks an infrastructure scale vision into practical execution milestones.The conversation explores why launch cost reductions are only part of the story, how mission cost becomes the next barrier, and how space to space power beaming could extend satellite life, increase available power, and support new commercial use cases. Andrew also discusses the realities of startup life, lessons carried forward from prior ventures, and the culture Star Catcher is building as it prepares for its first on orbit demonstrations.This episode offers a clear view of space infrastructure, commercial adoption, and what it takes to move fast in a hardware led company.
Andrew Chang, Junior Partner & COO at Rsquared
01:15:18|In this episode we spoke with Andrew Chang from Rsquared about investing in national resilience and what it means in practice.Andrew shares his route from Army counterintelligence into startups, cybersecurity, and building an incubator that helped founders work with government, before joining R Squared. He explains why the firm avoids being labelled a pure defence fund, and how their thesis spans infrastructure, manufacturing, biotech, cyber, and supply chain resilience across the US and Western Europe.The conversation covers how “infrastructure” now includes IoT security, why critical minerals are moving up the venture agenda, and where counter drone and underwater autonomy sit in both defence and commercial markets. Andrew also breaks down the biggest hurdle for defence focused founders, learning procurement and contracting systems, and why Europe faces extra complexity across fragmented rules.
The Techne Connect Special: Soda Auto, Behind the Wheel
39:50|Recorded onsite at Soda Auto’s SDV Hub, this episode takes you inside the thinking behind software defined vehicles.You hear from Sergey Malygin, Founder and CEO, as he shares his journey from building Arrival’s software platform to founding Soda. He explains the mission to simplify automotive software development, reduce cost and time, and unify requirements, architecture, testing, and deployment in one workflow.The conversation covers modular reuse, hardware-agnostic software, automation across the V-model, and why Soda sees software defined vehicles as the foundation for automotive and other industrial sectors.
Erik Daehler, Senior VP Sierra Space Defense at Sierra Space
01:02:41|In this episode we speak with Erik Daehler, Senior Vice President of Sierra Space’s Defense organisation, focused on delivering national security satellite capabilities including missile warning and tracking.Erik shares how a hands-on childhood, from rebuilding cars to fixing pinball machines, shaped his engineering mindset, and how early work in remote sensing at NASA took on new urgency after 9/11. He explains his shift into defence missions, the lessons learned from programme cancellations, and why adaptability matters as much as technical depth.The conversation covers Sierra Space’s approach to responsible operations in orbit, including solutions for de-orbiting and servicing satellites, plus the shift from bespoke spacecraft to faster, more industrialised space manufacturing. Erik also outlines the skill sets Sierra Space needs most, from manufacturing and supply chain to systems thinking, creativity, and AI-ready engineering.
Nico Perrin, Founder of PERRINN 424
41:26|In this episode we speak with Nico Perrin, founder of PERRINN 424 and a veteran of Formula One, Le Mans, and Formula E. Nico explains his ambition to close the performance gap between electric motorsport and Formula One by developing a digital first, fully electric race car designed to challenge the Nürburgring Nordschleife lap record.He shares his journey from race engineer and designer in Formula One to electric racing, and how those experiences shaped the PERRINN 424 project. Nico discusses the decision to build the team as an open source, community driven network, allowing contributors from across the world to take part in real time car development through simulation and digital twins.The conversation covers electric powertrain design, battery constraints, simulation led engineering, and the role of open networks in reducing cost and accelerating innovation. Nico also outlines his long term vision for hydrogen electric racing and why he believes electric motorsport will define the future of high performance racing.
Tyler Bouchard, CEO and Co-Founder at Flexxbotics
30:30|In this episode of Behind The Robot, Adam Ewing speaks with Tyler Bouchard, CEO and co-founder of Flexxbotics. Tyler explains how modern manufacturing is shifting toward software defined automation and why orchestration, interoperability, and autonomy sit at the centre of scalable robotics adoption.He shares his journey from mechanical engineering and industrial automation into building Flexxbotics, and how early experience across manufacturing, robotics components, and commercial roles shaped the company’s vision. Tyler discusses the challenge of connecting robots, machines, and business systems, and why clean, contextualised data is critical for reliable AI deployment in high compliance environments.The conversation explores manufacturing labour gaps, the role of robotics in reshoring and reindustrialisation, and the skills engineers need to succeed at production scale.This episode offers practical insight into robotics software, manufacturing autonomy, and building systems that work reliably in the real world.