Drones

New Delhi, 24th December 2022: The aviation regulator, DGCA grants Type Certification and RTPO approvals to India based drone manufacturer, Garuda Aerospace for their indigenously designed Kisan Drones. This is for the first time, DGCA has issued such certifications to any drone company in India. The Type certification was introduced by the government of India in August 2021 under Drone Rules. The Made in India Kisan drones are particularly developed for agricultural purposes such as reducing crop loss, crop health monitoring, yield measurement, and crop loss mitigation with the latest manufacturing capacities, and strong technology backgrounds. Having been awarded Type Certificate for the GA-AG model, Garuda Kisan Drone is now eligible for Rs.10 lakh unsecured loans from Agri Infrastructure Fund at a 5% interest and 50-100% subsidy from the Government of India. Priced at Rs.4.50 lakhs, Garuda Kisan Drone is advanced automated Agri Drone which has DGCA-approved Type Certification in the under 25kg small category. ICAR, KVKs, FMTTI, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer welfare, and several other Government Agriculture bodies will now have an option of procuring high-tech Made in India Drones manufactured by Garuda Aerospace. This will lead to creating job opportunities for the youth in the near future and a vision of training 1 lakh drone pilots in the next 2 years. Agnishwar Jayaprakash, Founder and CEO, Garuda Aerospace, said, “The elusive double certification by DGCA for Type and RPTO certification is a testament to our indigenous Made in India Drone manufacturing capacities.”

AW Feature-July-August 2022 By Ganesh Govindarajan There are significant economic and environmental imperatives to keep an enterprise’s assets and facilities operation worthy. Drones possess unmatched abilities to perch-and-stare, capture video, and undertake laser scanning. These capabilities impart drones the qualities that make them the instruments of choice for many, if not all, routine and hazardous operations required to be undertaken during inspection, maintenance and the tracking of performance of an enterprise’s assets and facilities. TECHNOLOGY EVOLUTION Drones or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), as they are variously known, were first used for commercial applications in the 1980s in Japan for spraying crop pesticides. The technology used on drones then was primitive. However, since then, advancements in drone technologies and supportive regulations, together with increased investments, have accelerated the development of infinitely more capable drones. The increase in drone capabilities has led to newer applications and business operating models in agriculture, infrastructure, security, delivery, transportation, entertainment, etc. The estimates published by Berkshire Hathaway in the Business Wire magazine predict the size of the global drone market to reach US$ 41.3 Billion by 2026 at a CAGR of 9.4%. Asset performance management software has also evolved rapidly to enable enterprises to ‘track’ their assets and maximize their returns on them. Firms can now track their assets by monitoring their condition, receiving alerts for predictive maintenance, and receiving advance failure warnings through embedded AI/ML. Asset performance management software enables the life cycle extension of the firm’s assets. “Efficient Asset Performance Management (APM) is increasingly viewed as a competitive differentiator. Earlier, the evolution of APM systems was incremental. The introduction of IoT, AI, ML, and drones has revolutionized APM.” The new technologies and the more powerful asset performance management software enable the efficient exchange of information between sensors, cameras, drones, and personnel. The enhanced communication between the various components increases the efficiency of asset performance management, enabling organizations to detect asset degradation and failures ahead of time and thus take actions to prevent them from occurring. The lightweight material of the drones is advantageous for ease of control and high-altitude flights. The drone’s control system (the ‘brain’) interfaces with sensors, navigation equipment, cameras, and the GPS. You may also tether drones. Tethered drones prevent the possibility of signal jamming and enable longer flight times since it is powered through the tether rather than through an onboard battery. AI and ML technologies enable APM systems to process data collected via sensors and the images/videos collected via cameras to extract actionable information. The APM system presents the processed data in a form that enables managers to make critical decisions based on the condition of the assets in real time and optimize their maintenance, thus enhancing their reliability, availability and performance. APPLICATIONS Asset inspection with automated drones is performed extensively in asset performance management (APM). Drones can easily reach difficult-to-access locations, enabling personnel to undertake inspections remotely, quickly, and safely. Suppose the drone identifies any maintenance or repair issue after the inspection. In that case, the maintenance/repair personnel can reach the location armed with all the necessary tools, having already performed the fault diagnosis. The flexibility and ease of operations that drones provide increasingly make them an integral part of asset performance management.With the increased attention on climate change, renewable energy sources such as solar farms see exponential growth globally. Solar farms are large and usually located in remote, rural areas. Using traditional methods of inspection for solar farms is inefficient. “Drones can quickly cover large areas of the solar farms to detect debris on the panels that reduce their efficiency. In addition, they can beam visual images for defect identification. Drones can also beam thermal images for the detection of faulty, overheating panels.” Drones are extremely handy for inspecting large real estate such as tall buildings, bridges, power lines, etc. Defects in such structures can have catastrophic consequences and necessitate regular inspection for early warning of possible defects. Traditional inspection methods would require temporary shutting down of the installation. The inspection would also require ladders, ropes, scaffolding, or other specialized and expensive machinery. Drones, however, can easily be deployed for the visual inspection of the difficult-to-access portions of these structures. Maintenance personnel can remain on the ground, the structure can remain operational, and they can obtain all the data required for making a maintenance/repair decision safely and quickly. Also, uninterrupted operations aid continued production and increased revenue. Manufacturing setups such as cement factories and chemical plants have tall chimneys, power generating plants, long conveyor belts/pipelines, and running machinery that makes inspection and maintenance a hazardous task. Drones make the inspection of these structures/installations efficient, and together with asset performance management software, provide maintenance personnel with the information to decide on the maintenance/repair action. From oil platforms and power stations to large buildings, smart drones can be seamlessly integrated into asset performance management, ushering in a whole new level of efficiency and safety to managing large installations. With drones, businesses can eliminate concerns related to time, expense, and safety of manual inspections. Drones enable accurate, real-time inspection of data, cost-saving, and maximization of equipment availability, thus creating a paradigm shift from passive to proactive management of assets. Most importantly, through integration with asset performance management software, drones will provide businesses with insights for informed, strategic decision-making for asset performance management and enable them to raise their return on their assets. (The writer is Associate Vice President – Solution Advisory, Digital Enterprise Platform, Ramco Systems)

10th May 2022, New Delhi: To promote a collaborative ecosystem aimed at fostering innovation and adoption of drones for public services, an experience studio on drones was launched by Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia at NITI Aayog. NITI Aayog Vice Chairperson Suman Bery and CEO Amitabh Kant were also present in the inaugural event. The Minister said, ‘We have the potential to make India a global drone hub by 2030. It is imperative for us to boost the usage of drones in different industrial- and defence-related sectors to leverage the benefits of this technology. We are actively working towards making drone services easily accessible. India will soon witness a higher number of industries embracing drone innovation. This will eventually lead to a revolution that will touch the life of every citizen, thereby realizing the PM’s goal of an Aatmabirhar Bharat.’ He also added, ‘With the active participation of the stakeholders of the drone industry and the Govt, the drone industry is set on a path of exponential growth. The govt will enable the continuity of this accelerated drone adoption by easing drone regulations and through drone literacy via programmes such as Drone Shakti and Kisan Drones. I would like to praise NITI Aayog for hosting such an exciting month-long drone event, enabling knowledge-sharing and exchange of ideas and fuelling innovation and growth in the drone ecosystem. Moreover, the cutting-edge experience studio at NITI Aayog is a symbol of technology excellence, which I am sure, will inspire curious minds to resolve real-world problems.’ NITI Aayog Vice Chairperson Suman Bery said, ‘Drones are expected to be significant creators of employment and economic growth due to their reach, versatility, and ease of use, especially in India’s remote and inaccessible areas. The NITI experience studio launched today shall help promote various applications of drone technology to public and private stakeholders as well as help them fast-track adoption of drone technology within their organisations and aid in building a robust drone industry in India.’ NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said, ‘Through the experience studio, start-ups and enterprises will be able to showcase their innovations and next-gen technology-enabled solutions. It will allow various government departments to experience these technologies first-hand and think about how they can be contextually used on the ground in public services. Additionally, the experience studio will also act as an anchor for initiating proof-of-concepts and pilots aimed at solving issues that persists in service deliveries. Smaller focused cohorts will be created through the experience studio, which will eventually help in mainstreaming these solutions once they are field-ready.’ The Union Minister also announced the launch of the following challenges, which will be held by NITI Aayog in collaboration with the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA): (a) ‘Drones for Social Impact Competition’: For the start-up community to showcase their capabilities to solve critical problem statements in various use cases. (b) ‘Robotics Workshop and Competition’: For students of Atal Tinkering Labs to foster the spirit of innovation and problem-solving. The Minister assured that MoCA will extend all the support required for these competitions as well as for organizing other events planned during the month to help develop the ecosystem. The launch was followed by an interaction with key stakeholders from the industry. During the interactive session, several recommendations were made towards promoting the drone sector. Some of the areas that were discussed were promoting manufacturing and Drones-as-a-Service, providing impetus to innovation, government as an adopter and the next big steps for the sector. In September 2021, NITI Aayog in collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Intel, established a Cloud Innovation Centre to help showcase the potential of frontier technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Internet of Things (IoT), Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality (AR/VR), Blockchain, Robotics etc. Such a studio would help in accelerating application of frontier technologies in public sector use cases. To effectively leverage the initiative, NITI Aayog has designed a ‘Monthly Innovation Chronicle’ programme that will focus on a particular thematic area for showcasing innovation, with the potential of being technology-led and necessitating government-industry collaboration for larger social impact. Key tenets of this programme are communication, collaboration and competition to ecosystem partners such as industry and innovators (enterprises and startups), academia and research, government and allied institutions, Atal Innovation Mission network (especially Atal Tinkering Labs), state and sub-state innovation councils/units, NITI Aayog’s connected external partners, not-for-profit, donor and multi-lateral agencies, and industry agencies, bodies and funding organizations.

The feature dwells upon advanced aerial mobility industry current scenario along with the recent trends, dynamics and strategies adopted by the market players. BY PRATIK KIRVE The future of mobility is changing and the pace of innovation and advancements proves the same. In the next few years,people will not only witness the drones used by cinematographers but also the aerial vehicles used to transport people and cargo over the short distances. Advanced aerial mobility is the future of the transport. Aircrafts systems equipped with advanced and smart technologies will open up new avenues of mobility. Transporting people over short or medium distance safety will become possible as leading companies, organizations, and government authorities have been drawing out plans to launch air taxis, connect airports and other destinations, and improve overall operational efficiency. Autonomous aircrafts that need little or no supervision of on-board pilots will emerge and fast transportation solutions will become a reality. Moreover, these aircrafts will be designed by taking environmental concerns into consideration. Advanced aerial mobility industry will observe few trends in terms of navigation, integration of smart systems, and lifecycle management. The demand for innovative solutions will increase in the coming years. This will supplement the growth of the market. According to the report published by Allied Market Research, the global advanced aerial mobility market is estimated to reach $16.81 billion by 2025 and $110.02 billion by 2035. Following are some of the new developments and trends taking place across the world. Navigation and maneuverability The advent of autonomous advanced aerial mobility vehicles would enable the access to locations that were inaccessible before. Accessing locations at low and medium altitudes and travelling short and medium distances are possible. These automated flying aircrafts can navigate with the help of maps, spot people, detect properties, and land safety with on-board pilot giving instructions. Moreover, these aircrafts are equipped with advanced algorithms and capabilities to avoid collision and be safe. The automatic detection capabilities of aircrafts in the vicinity will help in operating safely in the high-density areas. In addition, altitude control and path following technologies will be developed in the coming years to offer more control than before to the automated aircrafts. Moving people and cargo over short and medium distances in much lesser time than before will become a reality. The airports can also be connected through the electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) technology. While a car or train would take hours to reach from one airport to another, these aircrafts would save a lot of time and improve overall efficiency of operations. With increase in accessibility, there will be surge in utilization of hub airports. Integration of intelligent systems The autonomous aircrafts are equipped with intelligent systems to carry out tasks with little help or supervision of on-board pilots. The implementation of sensors, artificial intelligence (AI) systems, and cognitive systems will help in executing different tasks. Finding the path between towers, cables, and high-altitude building need an intelligent system in an aircraft. This kind of transportation need higher safety levels as compared to traditional land-based transportation. To enable such level of decision making and safety, intelligent systems with advanced technologies need to be installed. In these systems, cyber security becomes a key concern as cyber criminals can target these systems and jeopardize people and cargo in these aircrafts. The potential for cyber attacks rises considerably with connected and autonomous systems. The research and development activities for ensuring security of these systems are ongoing, and the more sophisticated systems will be introduced in the coming years as cyber criminals discover different types of attacks. Lifecycle management of aircrafts Reducing environmental footprint as much as possible is becoming the objective of every manufacturer of aircraft systems with rise in awareness regarding various concerns related to the environment. The products need to be designed and manufactured in such a way that it can be reused, disposed, and recycled even after the product life ends. Raw materials and manufacturing processes need to be analyzed. As the reuse and recycling of some electric components and lightweight materials is difficult, development of new materials will be carried out. Moreover, manufacturers should inform and educate the operators about the potential hazards and environmental impact of some of the materials. This will help in servicing and maintenance phases. It is important to consider the recycling and decommission of aircraft parts during the design phase. Lightweight materials such as titanium, aluminum, and other alloys have been used in aircrafts. These materials can be reused and recycled. However, the composite materials such as carbon fiber and other resins are difficult to recycle. So, there needs to be a proper consideration in choosing the raw material for building the aircraft. The ongoing research and development activities focus on creating materials that would be recycled and reused after the end of their lives. Same goes for batteries. The battery technology and components must reduce the overall costs and the composition of chemicals must improve performance. However, they should also address environmental concerns and reduce the challenges that may arise in future due to the end of battery life. (The writer is currently working as a Team Lead – Content Writing at Allied Market Research. He can be reached at:pratik.kirve@alliedmarketresearch.net)

Unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs – also known as drones – have long been welcomed across industries. Businesses have realized that drones have multiple commercial applications, some of which go beyond basic surveillance, photography, or videos, and they are already using them to transform daily work in some industries. By Swapnik Jakkampudi Drones have now forayed in a variety of sectors, primarily owing to robust investment support and loosening regulations. Responding to the rapidly evolving technology, companies are creating new business and operating models. In India, application of commercial drones has cuts across sectors such as construction, education, law enforcement, media and entertainment, precision agriculture, surveying and mapping, and inspection and monitoring. In fact, Drones or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) have by far been one of the most looked up to and promising technologies emerging from the Fourth Industrial Revolution. As per an industry report, the market for UAVs in India is expected to touch xxx million by end of 2022. Pandemic has made sectors embrace this technology even faster Pandemic has made one thing clear, that drones are the future. The pandemic has pushed for digitisation. With this digital shift there is immense opportunity for the drone industry to flourish and grow in the years to come.Businesses across all verticals have started realising the upsides which are the cost efficiency, time saving and technological advancements that drones can weave into a business. Not just commercial but today various examples of drones in development projects show the possibilities of using them in the field of humanitarian aid and environmental protection. Changing face of the healthcare and disaster management With the trends induced by the pandemic, the importance of drone technology is especially realised in sectors like rural healthcare and providing relief package for disaster recovery. With a high tech make over in these spaces, drones will help overcome a number of big challenges. The Covid-19 pandemic has raised a red flag. Drones can also come to the aid of healthcare workers while delivering human organs for transplant. While there may be plenty of donors to meet the requirements, what often becomes a barrier is that available organs often don’t reach desperate patients. Also few cities are turning to this technology as a tool for disaster response. In many countries, Drones are deployed to help find people that are in need of assistance. They have also been used to create disaster maps and assess damage after events like hurricanes and earthquakes. Armed with technology such as infrared cameras, and AR technology, it can also be used to create heat maps that can help fire-fighters locate hotspots. These can also help locate people that need rescue and help with relief package deliveries where natural disasters strike. Time saving & cost effective Besides, drones ability to drive efficiency, it is also time saving and cost effective. This technology will surely disrupt the traditional methods of operation and infuse more efficiency across sectors. Also with the government’s empowering policy on drone operation, it is only a matter of time before drones become mainstream and an integral part for different businesses. Drones will surely change the face of how sectors operate in the near future. Drones can help in advancement of remote and inaccessible areas along with giving agriculture of our country a bigger platform. Create employment opportunities The growing use of drones will also exponentially boost the demand for qualified professionals who can build, manage, service and operate them. The Drone Federation of India has indicated that under the favourable climate for the drone industry there are approximately 100 drone manufacturers, at least 200 drone service providers and over 1 lakh drone pilots in India. This surely indicates that it will present immense job opportunities. Further after the policy regarding the drone rules will come into being, drone sector alone will generate 5-7 lakh job opportunities. Also with the industry maturing, the drone job market within it is becoming increasingly multifaceted. As a matter of fact, companies are not just competing to advance the latest UAV technology, but also to grab the very best talent–pilots, UAV operators, engineers, and data processing and analysis experts. Moreover, potential positions range from full-time to contract-based work, even internships across many industries. Optistic environment and a promising future 2021 has been a promising year for UAVs as it created an optimistic environment with the introduction of new drones rules and PLI scheme. Tiding over all odds, Drone sector is one such sector that has been consistently picking up which is a positive sign for the growth and economy picking up. Many companies in India have signed new deals to kick off large-scale, commercial B2B drone operations. As most of the companies operating in this sector primarily comprise of start ups, they are looking up to the government to simplify policies and provide better support that would help them scale up manufacturing and leverage the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme. Road ahead The government needs to realise that the drone Industry in India is still at a nascent stage and very small and mostly run by very small start-ups, therefore, the govt. should announce special Drone VC fund, reduction in GST, R&D grants, tax exemptions, import and export benefits and infrastructure development grants for start-ups and SMEs to help the domestic industry grow faster than the global counterparts and serve not only the domestic market but the global market. Also one of the important aspect for faster adoption of this technology is that volumes are the need of the hour to bring down the costs. Moreover, government should lay down clear export and import policies which are in favour of the sector to keep with the momentum and tap on global opportunities. Today, both enterprises and the government are realising the economic and social opportunities and sustainability that UAVs can offer. The faster adoption of UAVs is therefore critical to realise the potential of this technology. And there is no doubt that this will also turn the drone segment

28th September 2021,New Delhi: The first of its kind Swarm Drone Show was organised at IIT Delhi on 28th September. The formation consisted of approx. 80 indigenously built drones by BotLab Dynamics. The formation included a DNA structure a cylindrical cone, a ‘Thank U’ formation in honour of Pradeep Singh Kharola, Secy., MoCA, who’s retiring by the end of this Sept. Showstopping formation of the evening was The Indian flag, held up all high with all indigenously built drones.