Engineers developing self-sailing drone technology in warehouse space

Mechanical engineers Richard Jenkins and Daryl Owens are crafting the future at Alameda Point. Their company Saildrone designs and builds drones — not those that fly above us, but those that can sustain themselves on the open sea and that are capable of carrying payloads as heavy as 220 pounds. The design of the company’s 19-foot-long, 7-foot-wide vessels allows these drones to sail in shallow waters and through marine debris, enabling them to go where ships cannot.