Todd Reichert & Cameron Robertson
Reichert and Robertson spend their time pushing the limits of human potential. Innovation, inspiration, and pioneering new ways of approaching a problem is what defines Aerovelo. Their projects have taken them from human-powered helicopters to aerodynamic bicycles capable of reaching speeds of over 140km/hr. Driven by passion to change the future, and fearless in their approach to seemingly impossible engineering challenges, their journey has led them to a unique understanding of what it takes to tackle the impossible. They now share the story of this journey, and the lessons they've learned with audiences around the world.
“Everything we talk about was once considered impossible. ”
Aerovelo started with the dream to achieve one of humanity's earliest aeronautical goals - to fly like a bird under our own power. Many assumed that this dream was impossible, but Todd & Cameron were energized by the problem. Their key realization was to understand that to call something impossible means accepting all of the assumptions and constraints of the framework that says it's impossible. "Impossible" is not a standalone concept. Once they realized that they could think about the problem using a different framework, they had a way to solve it. Todd & Cameron and their team went on to invent "Snowbird", the world's first human powered ornithopter to achieve sustained flight.
“Our story demonstrates that going from impossible to possible is primarily a matter of perspective.”
Do More with Less
Todd and Cameron's talks centre on the common themes of "Doing more with Less" and making the impossible possible.
The Aerovelo story includes lessons on rethinking old problems, and how failure is a critical part of the process. We've all heard that failure is a part of success, but that's an incomplete picture. The real lesson is that the cost of failure become exponentially greater the further into the innovation process you go.
“Continuously challenge your innovations in order to fail as early as possible. ”
Selected Talks
Stanford Seminar Series AA294, Stanford, USA, May 10, 2017
Paul B. McCready Lecture, San Francisco, USA, April 22, 2017
Red 7 Media Marketing Summit, San Francisco, USA, May 13, 2015
Factory of Imagination, Odense, Denmark, May 18, 2015
Innotown, Alesund, Norway, May 20, 2015
Google Sci Foo Camp, San Francisco, USA, August 2014
Idea City, Toronto, June 2014. Watch the talk here.
NASA Ames, San Francisco, USA, January, 2014
AHS Aeromechanics Conference, San Francisco, USA, 2014
Innovator, Abu Dabi, UAE, March 2014
Ingredients of Innovation, TEDx WesternU, April 2013
Challenging the Impossible, PopTech, Camden Maine, October 2013
Challenge Drives Discovery, TEDx Youth Toronto, November 2013
Challenging the Impossible, Zurich Minds, Zurich, Switzerland, December 2013
Doing More with Less (Technical Lecture), University of Michigan, October 2013
Todd and Cameron are represented by the Brightsight Group speaking agency. For booking inquiries please contact:
Tom Neilssen
609-924-3060 x16