David
Lobo
Aero-mechanical engineer, inventor and entrepreneur.
I turn hard problems into real products. I’ve led the design of an autonomous drone system from the first sketch to launch, worked on large-scale manufacturing at Tesla, and co-founded a company that grew to more than 500 locations. On weekends, I build high-speed drones with my brother and my dad. The fastest one has gone past 500 km/h.
Now
Lead Mechanical Engineer at Hextronics
I lead the mechanical design of Eclipse, our drone-in-a-box. That’s the Helios drone and the Luna dock it lands in and charges from.
Selected work
Projects
High-speed filming drone
A drone fast enough to follow a race car. Five versions so far, and V4 has gone past 500 km/h.
Kratos
A bigger, 12S version of the high-speed drone, sized to carry 1 kg.
Varg
A fast, long-range drone that carries a Blackmagic cinema camera.
Aero lab
The CFD work behind the high-speed drone.
Hextronics
Eclipse, from the first concept to the public launch.
How I work
Start with the numbers, then go fly
I like to start every drone on paper. I size it from prop data and hand calculations, check it with CFD and FEA, and then build it and fly it with logging on. After that I go back and compare the logs with the model, and I keep adjusting until the two agree.
If you create something that is at least aesthetically beautiful, then the chances of it working is significantly higher.
Press
In the news
Before Hextronics
Earlier experience
Cybertruck cell manufacturing at Giga Texas.
Kuva Systems
Mechanical design for cameras that find methane leaks.
Juze Energy
Co-founder and former CEO of a powerbank rental network with 160+ locations.
Northeastern
Mechanical engineering with a minor in aerospace. Cum laude, and Best Capstone Project.
Contact
Get in touch
If you want to talk about a role, a project, or drones in general, send me a message here or email me at davidlobo@me.com.