LATEST DRONE INNOVATION TRENDS
A look at new technology innovations shaping the future of consumer and commercial drones.
Sales of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) are expected to nearly triple in the next three years, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. This growth is driven by drone technology innovation that’s bringing new capabilities and uses for flying robots, beyond fun and entertainment.
Drones are becoming increasingly critical tools for meeting serious business needs.
The new year kicked off with a slew of drone industry announcements at the 2017 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Many fit into three categories: drones for industrial use, consumer selfie drones and the adrenalin-fueled world of racing drones. Some drones shrank in size, becoming more nimble, while others became smarter, equipped with autonomous navigation systems and virtual reality capabilities.
Drones That See and Think.
“Vision and collision avoidance came along in 2016,” said Anil Nanduri, vice president in the New Technologies Group and general manager of the UAV segment at Intel, adding that those technologies are becoming standard in new drone models.
“This year we’ll see more redundancy built into systems to provide backup support in case vision fails,” he said. “These sensing technologies will help drones fly in fog and all-weather environments.”
For example, the Yuneec Typhoon H drone with Intel Real Sense 3D camera technology avoids obstacles by creating a 3D map of what it sees in real time, and “remembering” where things are to navigate around them.
DJI’s new models released in 2016, the Mavic Pro and Phantom 4, use forward- and downward-facing vision sensors to detect obstacles. DJI’s newest professional cinema drone, the Inspire 2, takes this up a notch by including upward-facing infrared sensors to enhance collision avoidance in enclosed spaces.
Computer vision and artificial intelligence are making drones easier and safer to fly.
“There will be more automation — from launching the drone, flying it and capturing the data, to being able to transmit that data and automatically analyze it,” Nanduri said. “Because drones are getting smarter at knowing what to do, the amount of skill required by a drone pilot will drop.”
In addition to beyond-line-of-sight flying capabilities and innovation in fixed wing and multi-rotor hybrid drones, Nanduri said security will become critical to the future of drones, just like it is for any internet-connected device.
“The good thing is that security technology already exists,” he said. “It just needs to be adopted.”
Nanduri also pointed to the positive impact of regulations, particularly the FAA’s Part 107 waiver. He said these common rules for operating drones in the U.S. are making it easier for people and businesses to turn their ideas for drones into reality.
“This waiver set standards for commercial use of drones, eliminating a painstaking waiver request process,” he said. “By putting these rules in place, the FAA is changing the U.S. from being a laggard to a leader in drone technology.”
Three main aspects of Part 107 include: A flying drone must remain in the operator’s line of sight; drones must not fly above 400 feet; and operators must have a pilot’s license to fly unmanned vehicles.
Nanduri sees the Part 107 waiver as a key to unlocking new uses for drones in a variety of industries, ranging from real estate and industrial inspection to agriculture and public safety services.
“Many industry leaders and individuals are looking at how they can monetize drones for commercial use.”
Industrial Drone Innovation
Drone pioneer DJI announced it took a majority stake in Hasselblad, the 75-year-old Swedish camera equipment maker whose technology was used by NASA during the Mercury and Apollo missions. This marriage between a legendary camera company with the world’s biggest consumer drone manufacturer signals that a significant increase in aerial image capturing is on the horizon.
Autel Robotics, a manufacturer of multi-rotor and fixed-wing drones, introduced two new cameras for their X-Star Premium line of quadcopters. Squarely aimed at professionals, the FLIR Duo thermal imaging camera will be a boon to firefighters and building contractors. Autel is also releasing a 4K camera with a 1-inch CMOS sensor, greatly improving the resolution and clarity over their existing camera module.
These and other drone innovations could inspire new industrial uses for drones.
For example, aircraft maker Airbus now conducts airplane inspections using a AscTec Falcon 8, manufactured by Intel-owned Ascending Technologies. Their drone captures high definition images of aircraft, then those images are quickly analyzed by computers to help find imperfections.
“Drones, sensors, database, cloud computing and machine learning are really key for what we are putting together,” said Ronnie Gnecco, innovation manager for UAV Development and Applications at Airbus.
Gnecco said it usually takes two hours for two men hoisted in a cherry picker to quality inspect a new Airbus aircraft. With a camera-equipped UAV, his team can produce better data from the 150 high-definition pictures captured in about 10 minutes.
Selfie Drone Innovation Selfie drones, something that really hit the scene at CES 2015 with Nixie, continue to improve and proliferate. At CES 2017, there were tiny new models, some even folded to fit in shirt pocket, like the Zerotech Dobby Drone.
Controlled by a smartphone app, the Dobby folds out to automatically take selfie photos and video with its electronic image stabilized 4k camera. It includes several “smart” features such as facial recognition, tracking and gesture control — tools that allow pilots to put down the controller and watch as Dobby navigates on its own.
The Wingsland S6 takes the pocket selfie drone in a new direction by adding a foam dart canon. The Wingsland S6 is safe to fly indoors and outside as it uses optical flow sensors for indoor use and GPS for outdoor. It’s packed with many features that have become standard on more expensive DJI drones, such as a 4K camera, autonomous flight modes and automatic return to home during signal loss or low battery.
30 most promising Drone startups in India:
Based in Pune, Maharashtra, Aerial Photo India provides Aerial mapping and survey services to Surveyors, Project Planner and Project Consultants, Government Organization Authorities, Land Administrators, Mining Companies etc. for better visulaization of the area which can help them in return for better planning and decision making. The company is also into Drone Photography, video shoot and Aerial 360 degree panoramas.
30 most promising Drone startups in India:
Martian Way Corporation provides custom-made drones for sale and services like aerial photography, drone rentals, advertising with drones/aerial banners, robotics education for colleges and universities, robotic apps for industrial solutions and experiential branding and gaming products. The company is based in Mumbai and offers various other software & embedded AI products that power drones, robots, web/mobile platforms and advanced automation systems.
Founded by Yeshwanth Reddy, Vipul Singh, Suhas Banshiwala and Nikhil Upadhye, Aarav Unmanned Systems started its journey in year 2013. The company is located in Bengaluru. Aarav Unmanned Systems has developed multi-rotor and fixed wing UAVs. The company provides services to enterprise clients with a focus on services like GIS surveying and mapping, industrial inspection and precision agriculture.
Based in Pune, Maharashtra, Aerial Photo India provides Aerial mapping and survey services to Surveyors, Project Planner and Project Consultants, Government Organization Authorities, Land Administrators, Mining Companies etc. for better visulaization of the area which can help them in return for better planning and decision making. The company is also into Drone Photography, video shoot and Aerial 360 degree panoramas.
4. Aerialair
Based in Mumbai, Aerialair is a brainchild of a group of young enthusiasts who specializes in advance aerial imaging solution for commercial and residential use. The organization provides 3D land mapping services elevation data, contour lines, 3D surface data, accurate volume measurements and CM level terrain profile Their creative array of services also includes VR enabled 360 panoramas, aerial/ground as well as interior which can be incorporated as a virtual tour.
5. Aero360
Pragadish Santhosh founded Aero 360 in 2017. The company is located in Chennai. The company provides aerial images delivering high accurate Topography data, 3D Digital Elevation Models and Digital Surface Models to enable better assessment, planning, surveying, inspection and maintenance. Their training arm, Unmanned Engineeria, is the first and Only dedicated UAV training facility that provides training in Unmanned Aerial Systems for Aerial Photography, Aerial Mapping, Aerial Inspections and other commercial applications.
6. AirPix
AirPix was founded by Aniket Tatipamula, Shinil Shekhar and Neeraj Waghchaure in year 2013. Located in Mumbai, Airpix provides drone-based solutions using both multi-rotor and fixed-wing UAVs. The services offered by Airpix include industrial inspections, aerial survey and aerial photography.
7. Airwood
Started in the year 2014 by Vivek Rajkumar, Airwood is a UAV firm dedicated to Agri data and analytics. It has developed custom drones that gather field data which farmers can leverage using Airwood’s farm management dashboards. Located in Bangalore, the company is a ‘full-stack agri production management and data sciences company’ working towards improving agriculture, and uplifting the farmers in the country.
Asteria Aerospace is a robotics and artificial intelligence company that develops drone based solutions for actionable intelligence from aerial data. It provides end-to-end solutions to autonomously survey, inspect and monitor assets in industries such as oil and gas, mining, construction and agriculture. Headquartered in Bangalore, Asteria Aerospace was founded by Nihar Vartak and Neel Mehta.
Founded by a team of seven graduates from IIT Kanpur Aurora Integrated System develops airborne systems with a focus on small Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS). AIS is supported and funded by the Tata group. AIS’ drones have applications in civilian space like Geo-Information Systems, Agriculture and Disaster Management. Systems of AIS are also tailored to meet requirements ranging from wartime operations to counter-terrorism and anti-insurgency operations.
10. Bubblefly
BubbleFly started it journey in year 2016. Nihant Purohit and Reji Sivakutty founded this organization in year 2016 in Delhi NCR. Bubble Fly Technology designs and manufactures drones and other UAS for the enterprise sector. Their services include monitoring, surveillance, inspection, 3D mapping, and thermal imaging.
Daniel Raj David, Harikrishnan A.S., Karthik R, Tarun Mishra and Krishnan Balasubramanian laid the foundation of DeTect Technologies in year 2016. Located in Chennai DeTect Technologies is focused on providing infrastructure services to the industrial sector including drone-based monitoring of critical infrastructure.
12. Drona Aviation
Drona Aviation designs and develops UAS for personal, civic, and industrial use. The company also sells ready-to-fly, do-it-yourself drone kits, and conducts workshops to increase awareness around drones and other UAS. It was founded by Apurva Godbole, Prasanna Shevare and Dinesh Sain in year 2014 in Mumbai.
Kishore Jonnalagadda laid the establishment of the company in Bengaluru. Drone Aerospace Systems is involved in the design and development of unmanned aerial systems. Its products include low-cost flying platforms, ground control systems, and embedded solutions.
14. Drone Nation
Chetan Reddy, Vichar Shroff, Vaibhav Agarwal are founders of Drone Nation. Located in Sancoale, Drone Nation caters to infrastructure companies, mining industry, and agriculture sector. Its services include infrastructure inspections and mapping.
15. Edall Systems
Edall Systems was founded in 2016 by Pritam Ashutosh in 2016. The company is a UAV manufacturer and service provider. They provide drone-based image processing support, mapping, land audit, town planning, and industrial area survey.
16. Gravodrone
Gravodrone is a tech startup providing services of Aerial Photography / Drone Photography , Aerial Videography, Aerial Inspection, Wind-turbine Inspection / Windmill Inspection, Structural Inspection, Civil Engineering Inspection, Aerial Survey, Aerial Mapping, 2D & 3D Orthomosaics, Digital Surface models, Digital terrain models Digital elevation models(DEM), Volumetric analysis, 3D Modelling in India. Founded in the year 2015 the headquarter of the company is in Bengaluru, Karnataka
17. IdeaForge
IdeaForge is involved in the development and manufacture of quadcopter and fixed-wing UAVs with a clientele including Indian Armed Forces, law enforcement bodies, and corporates outside the defense space. Located in Mumbai, IdeaForge was founded by Ankit Mehta, Rahul Singh, Ashish Bhat and Vipul Joshi.
Indrone Aero Systems is a drone-based service provider that offers mapping, surveying, surveillance, plant health and growth monitoring, inspection of infrastructure, and disaster management services. It was founded by Anurag Joshi and Abhishek G S and is located in Bengaluru.
19. Indrones
Located in Mumbai and founded by Pravin Prajapati, Indrones is a drone service provider. The organization caters to the agriculture and industrial sector. Its services include GIS mapping, precision agriculture, monitoring and inspection of infrastructure. The foundation of the company was laid in the year 2015.
20. Johnnette
John Livingstone founded Johnnette in 2014. Located in Noida, Johnnette Technologies is a drone manufacturer and service company. It provides services including inspections, disaster management assistance, mapping, and aerial cinematography using drones.
Founded in 2011 and headquartered in Kolkata, Kadet Defence UAV manufacturing and service company. The company manufactures a wide range of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Micro UAV, Mini UAV, Commercial Drones, Fixed Wing Drones, Industrial Drones, and also offers Aerial Solutions for military, industrial, environmental and agricultural sectors. Kadet designs, develops and manufactures Drones and provides associated Drone Solutions for commercial, civil and defense applications such as aerial surveillance, aerial survey and mapping, aerial inspection, crowd monitoring, wildlife monitoring, aerial videography.
Aakash Kishore Sinha and Jyoti Vashishtha Sinha founded Omnipresent Robot Tech. Headquartered in New Delhi Omnipresent Robot Tech designs and develops drones for enterprises with a focus on inspections and monitoring. The company also develops robots for industrial and consumer use cases.
Pigeon Innovative Solutions specializes in professional aerial photography services with innovative sensor technologies in the areas of UAV Drone surveying, mapping, GIS surveying, topographical survey, 3D models, photogrammetry consultancy, drone inspection, aerial infrastructure monitoring, mining services, agricultural drones, vegetation mapping and crop health monitoring. Headquartered in Mumbai the company was founded in the year 2014.
Quidich Innovation Labs is an aerial cinematography service provider with a focus on drone filming. The company also offers drone services like mapping and infrastructure inspection. Quidich Innovation Labs was founded by Rahat Kulshreshtha and Gaurav Mehta in 2015 and is situated in Mumbai.
Samhams Technologies Provides Automatic Flying Crafts And Services In The Areas Of Intelligence, Surveillance And Reconnaissance. It was founded by Shaik Sameer Ahamed, Abul Kalam Khan and Mirza Jahangeer Baig. This drone company is headquartered in Nellore.
26. Skylark Drones
Headquartered in Bengaluru Skylark Drones was founded by Mughilan Thiru Ramasamy and Mrinal Pai in year 2015. A drone service company, Skylark Drones focuses on mining, infrastructure and utility industries. It offers services like aerial surveying, mapping, and infrastructure inspection.
Sai Pattabiram and Venkatesh Sai are founders of Sree Sai Aerotech Innovations Private Limited. It is UAV manufacturer and service provider. The services offered by Zuppa Drones include mapping, topographical survey, monitoring, and surveillance. It has also developed drones for agricultural spraying.
Bhaskar Raghunathan founded Takvaviya in Chennai. The company focuses on mining, power, oil & gas, infrastructure, and agriculture sectors. Its services include aerial survey, inspections and monitoring for these sectors
29. V Drone Agro
Kunal Sharma founded V Drone Agro in the year 2017. Headquartered in Bengaluru, this drone company develops and designs drone-based systems for the agriculture sector with an aim to help farmers with crop yield. It provides services like crop health, data analysis and mapping using its in-house analytics solutions.
30. WeDoSky
Jaspreet Makkar founded WeDoSky in year 2012 with an aim to build drones and provide services for agriculture, mining, infrastructure and real estate sectors. The services include drone-based survey, mapping, monitoring, and image analytics. Headquarter of WeDoSky is in Delhi NCR.
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