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Published March 19, 2023
Author
Apoorva Singh
Just got inspired by the Zipline launch video. Just plain mind blowing.
Video preview
 
Now I want to know what’s happening in Indian Drone Ecosystem. A single page contains the list of all companies operating in this space (https://tropogo.com/india-guide/drone-ecosystem-india). Here is a rough overview:
  1. Indian ecosystem has around 524 companies across 21 categories
  1. DRONE TRAINING INSTITUTE AND RPTOS - 23 companies
  1. INDIAN DRONE MANUFACTURERS - 101 companies
  1. AGRICULTURAL DRONE MANUFACTURERS - 26 companies
  1. DRONE SERVICE COMPANIES - 220 companies
  1. UTM AND REMOTE ID - 12 companies
  1. DRONE SAFETY SYSTEMS - 1 company
  1. MILITARY DRONES - 16 companies
  1. NPNT, GCS AND DATA MANAGEMENT SOFTWARES - 9 companies
  1. DRONE INSURANCE - 3 companies
  1. SENSOR PAYLOADS AND CAMERA - 2 companies
  1. COUNTER DRONE TECHNOLOGY - 11 companies
  1. VC & CORPORATE INVESTMENTS - 8 companies
  1. DRONE SPARE & BATTERIES - 18 companies
  1. REGULATORY BODIES AND INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS - 23 companies
  1. DRONE LAW FIRMS - 3 companies
  1. AIR TAXI - 2 companies
  1. EVENTS - 3 companies
  1. DRONE COMPONENTS & SYSTEMS MANUFACTURER - 20 companies
  1. CERTIFICATION BODY - 3 companies
  1. ECOSYSTEM & NETWORK - 1 company (Tropogo)
  1. ACADEMIA - 19 companies
 

Pass 1 Questions

  1. What is the cost of one drone?
  1. What’s the operating range in kilometers?
  1. How much will a delivery cost from point A to point B?
  1. Is it technically possible?
  1. Is it allowed to go BVLOS?
  1. Why aren’t existing companies catering to the drone market? What are the reasons? Regulatory? Technical? Financial?
 

BVLOS (Regulatory)

BVLOS drone medical delivery trials in India - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BVLOS_drone_medical_delivery_trials_in_India?useskin=vector
To additionally monitor these trials a special committee was also formed and named BVLOS Experiment Assessment and Monitoring Committee (BEAM)
20 companies were allowed by BEAM for BVLOS flights - https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetailm.aspx?PRID=1716085. They are:
  1. Aerospace Industry Development Association of Tamil Nadu (AIDAT)
  1. ANRA Consortium A
  1. ANRA Consortium B
  1. Asteria Aerospace Pvt. Ltd.
  1. AutoMicroUAS Aerotech Pvt. Ltd.
  1. Centillion Networks Pvt. Ltd.
  1. ClearSky Flight Consortium
  1. Dhaksha Unmanned Systems Pvt. Ltd.
  1. Dunzo Air Consortium
  1. Marut Dronetech Pvt. Ltd.
  1. Sagar Defence Engineering Pvt. Ltd.
  1. Saubika Consortium
  1. Skylark Drones & Swiggy
  1. ShopX Omnipresent Consortium
  1. Spicejet Ltd.
  1. Terradrone Consortium B
  1. The Consortium
  1. Throttle Aerospace Systems Pvt. Ltd.
  1. Value Thought IT Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
  1. Virginia Tech India
 
India’s Drone Liberalisation Policy, introduced in 2021
Digital Sky by Government of India got operational in October 2022.
 
 
 

Problems

https://electronics360.globalspec.com/article/9153/challenges-preventing-mass-adoption-of-flying-drones
  1. Regulatory problems. Shouldn’t fly around people. Not around airports. BVLOS not allowed
  1. Range. Short distance flights because small battery.
  1. Cost. Consumer Drones are shitty. Industrial drones are costly
 
 
Note: Drone abuse would be a thing in India for sure
 
https://interdrone.com/news/5-challenges-that-the-drone-delivery-system-should-overcome/
  1. Weather Impact. Bad weather should not affect the operations of the Drone.
  1. Collision Avoidance. Should not hit birds, power lines etc.
 
https://www.wipro.com/business-process/the-future-of-delivery-with-drones-contactless-accurate-and-high-speed/
  1. Legislative and regulatory issues
  1. Talent availability for scaled operations
  1. Infrastructure
  1. Public acceptance
  1. Weather impact
  1. Drone abuse
 

What items are required for transportation?

What kind of packages can be delivered by drones?

What kind of distance would the drone need to travel?

Can we divide distances into multiple parts?