Da Jiang Innovations (DJI): Galaxy of DRONES

[qwerrty]

The Apple of the Pearl River Delta? DJI Innovations is taking fligh

When Frank Wang Tao sneaked away from classes at the University of Science and Technology to found a business, he could hardly have imagined that his company would one day be hailed as the Pearl River Delta's answer to Apple by his former mentor.

But seven years on, his Shenzhen-based DJI Innovations is flying high in the world of unmanned aerial vehicles. DJI says it supplies more than 50 per cent of global demand for such vehicles from the commercial and industrial sectors.

"I was a model enthusiast, but my planes often crashed," he says. "So it was my dream to develop this technology."

Aerial photography is DJI's speciality and its latest model is the Phantom, a flying camera that captures high-definition film and photographs from the sky.

Wang said DJI was the first to make this military-grade technology available to the public. Just the parts for the Phantom, which sells for 6,999 yuan (HK$8,722) on Taobao, would once have cost tens of thousands, Wang says. The Phantom is remote-controlled, with the camera controlled via smartphone or tablet.

Wang says his customers are mainly hobbyists, but the Phantom is also used for surveillance, planning and even to shoot Hollywood films and adverts.
The company has seen turnover grow 7,900 per cent in the last three years...

http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1370451/apple-pearl-river-delta-dji-innovations-taking-flightbvm=bv.68911936,d.dGI

12 Companies That Will Conquer The Drone Market In 2014 and 2015

 

[cirr]

Chinese Drone Maker DJI Tackles Security Fears Amid Booming Market

BY IAN WILLIAMS

First published February 2nd 2015, 8:30 pm

Drone Maker: 'We Are Working on More Safeguards'
NBC NEWS

SHENZHEN, China — Fans at the Super Bowl could be forgiven the occasional glance skywards to check for swarms of drones sweeping in like helicopters from the movie "Apocalypse Now." Such was the tone of paranoia in an urgent and much-ridiculed Federal Aviation Authority public service video on the eve of the game.

"Don't spoil the game. Leave your drone at home," the FAA warned.

None appeared, but the game came at the end of a bad week for consumer drones. Regulators have been struggling to come up with new rules for one of America's fastest-growing hobbies, which is raising serious issues of privacy, safety and security.

"We are working on more safeguards," said Paul Pan, product manager of DJI, the world's biggest maker of consumer and small commercial drones. "We never imagined things would move this fast."

Last week, a drone crash landed in the grounds of White House and another fell to earth near the Mexican border, overloaded with six pounds of meth.

White House Drone Crash Points to Potential New Threat
NBC NEWS

Both were manufactured by DJI, a Chinese company based in Shenzhen, which had already been in discussions with the FAA and has now brought forward a software fix that limits where the drones can be used.

"We put the GPS locations of sensitive locations like airports — and now D.C. — into the flight controllers so that the platforms will sense when it is close to one of these no-fly zones and won't enter the space," DJI's spokesman Michael Perry told NBC News during a visit to the company's headquarters.

"We are working with the regulators, finding out where we can't fly, and simply closing that off with software," Pan added.

DJI was founded in 2006 in a dorm room at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology by Frank Wang, a graduate engineering student and radio-controlled flying geek.

"It's the first time a Chinese company has created a brand new market that hasn't existed before," according to spokesman Perry.

Drone Captures Harlem During Storm
NBC NEWS

The company now occupies ten floors of a modern Shenzhen office block where Perry showed NBC News what he called the company's "museum." The history on display covers just three frantic years of innovation.

Their latest pizza-box sized four-rotor helicopters — known as "quadcopters" — now carry powerful cameras able to rotate through 360 degrees, with the pictures monitored via smartphone or tablet. DJI has now joined with several software companies to create apps for the drones, including one able to create three-dimensional maps of the ground below.

Not surprisingly, the drones have attracted enormous interest from hobbyists, but also industries ranging from movies and television to surveying. U.S. firefighters have used a drone to help identify danger spots in a fire. And then of course there are the delivery ambitions of Amazon.

Even conservationists have been snapping them up. A team of students from Olin College of Engineering, in Needham, Massachusetts, is customizing a drone to hover over whales and collect samples of spray from their blowholes. The spray contains hormones that will help determine if the animal is stressed. They have christened the device "Snot Bot."

The UCLA football team has been using a drone for training — its unique overhead shots helping to analyze the team's play. Though that didn't make the devices any more welcome at the Super Bowl in Phoenix on Sunday night.

Super Bowl Is a Drone-Free Zone
NIGHTLY NEWS

Drones have even spawned a variation on the selfie — the "dronie" — a self-portrait shot from on high.

DJI now employs 2,800 people worldwide. It is a private company that releases little detailed commercial information, though by one estimate they have 70 percent of the global market and are now selling "tens of thousands a month," with the U.S. its most important market.

But there is downside: The FAA has been receiving around 25 reports a month of consumer drones flying near manned aircraft, and privacy concerns where dramatically illustrated last year when one exasperatedNew Jersey man blew his neighbor's drone out of the sky with a shotgun.

For security officials there's also the horrible specter of a potential drone-based terror attack.

While DJI hopes its software fix and more training for pilots will help ease the fears, it is the FAA that has been charged with the thorny task of drawing up new rules — balancing hopes and benefits with the threats from pranksters and troublemakers.

Chinese Drone Maker DJI Tackles Security Fears Amid Booming Market - NBC News

 

[TaiShang]

Drone maker DJI bans Washington flights after White House crash

The Secret Service found a DJI Phantom drone on the White House's south lawn

The Chinese manufacturer of a drone that crashed into the White House lawn earlier this week is taking action to prevent repeat incidents.

DJI said it would publish a firmware update in the "coming days" that would prevent its kit flying inside Washington DC's restricted airspace.

It added that a later update would stop aircraft crossing national borders.

Last week, one of its quadcopters was found on the ground of a car park close to the Mexico-US divide.

Bags containing methamphetamine had been taped to its body, leading to the suspicion that traffickers had tried to use it to smuggle the illegal drug into the States.

Owners of the Phantom 2 family of drones will need to download the firmware and install it for the restrictions to take effect, and it is possible that programmers will be able to de-activate the limitations in new models, which will come with the code pre-installed.

Phantom 2 models will use GPS data to check whether they are entering a restricted zone

But the Shenzhen-based firm said it would tell customers that the update was "mandatory", making it impossible for them to add other future features if the firmware was not already in place.

"With the unmanned aerial systems community growing on a daily basis, we feel it is important to provide pilots with additional tools to help them fly safely and responsibly," said Michael Perry, a DJI spokesman.

"We will continue co-operating with regulators and lawmakers to ensure the skies stay safe and open for innovation."

He added that the firm had already intended to expand the kit's no fly zone system - which works by checking a drone's GPS location data to ensure it is not taking off from or flying into a restricted area, such as an airport runway.

But he told the BBC that the safety features were being "pushed out a bit earlier" than originally planned following the recent incidents.

'The eagle has crash-landed'
On Monday, the US Secret Service launched an investigation after one of DJI's Phantom drones was found on the grounds of the White House in the early hours of the morning.

It later emerged that the device had been flown by another government worker - an unnamed member of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency - while drunk, operating the device through the window of a nearby apartment.

He was not arrested, but the incident prompted calls for new rules to safeguard the President and others.

"The eagle has crash-landed in Washington," declared Senator Charles Schumer. "There is no stronger sign that clear FAA guidelines for drones for needed."

The drone that crashed near the Mexico border was one of DJI's Spreading Wings models, which will not be able to install the new firmware

The Federal Aviation Administration is currently working on controls to govern the commercial use of small drones, but there have been reports that it might not be ready to issue them until 2017 or later.

In the meantime, DJI's firmware should prevent at least some of its drones from being able to take flight within the 25km (15.5 mile)-radius zone of restricted airspace centred on the Washington Monument.

 

[TaiShang]

Drone maker DJI partners with streaming site Youku-Tudou
Xinhua, May 1, 2015

China's leading drone maker DJI has announced a partnership with streaming site Youku-Tudou in a new strategy to tap the country's consumer drone market.

According to the deal, the details of which were published on Thursday, Youku-Tudou will dedicate a special channel for DJI drone users, who will be able to upload videos shot by drone-mounted cameras. The creators of popular videos may share revenues with the website.

The channel will also carry content about DJI product launches, reviews and tutorials.

The partnership also brings together Alibaba-backed Weibo for video sharing, Alipay for payment, and travel information site Qyer.com.

Andy Pan, vice president of DJI, said he believes the partnership can help develop aerial video in China.

Established in 2006, Shenzhen-based DJI now accounts for nearly 70 percent of the global consumer drone market, but 80 percent of its revenues are generated from outside China, according to Shao Jianhuo, DJI's PR manager.

 

[TaiShang]

China's export of civilian drones surges
July 5, 2015

China exported 160,000 units of civilian drones worth 750 million yuan (US$120 million) from January to May, 69 and 55 times of the same period in 2014 respectively.

According to customs in the southern city of Shenzhen, where 99 percent of China's civilian drones are exported from, a "green channel" has been set up to facilitate fast clearance of the product.

The Shenzhen-based technology firm DJI, a leading manufacturer of commercial and recreational drones for aerial photography and videography, accounts for almost 70 percent of the market share worldwide, with Europe and North America its biggest customers.

 

[cirr]

Monstrous growth。

 

[TaiShang]

Monstrous growth。

DJI everywhere.

 

[jkroo]

DJI rocks. And now DJI has more potential competetors in Shenzhen city which is an important base of civilian drones industry.

 

[Economic superpower]

Great to see DJI dominating.

 

[AndrewJin]

Shenzhen is a paradise for startups.

 

[TaiShang]

China’s Civilian Drone Export Rises, Reaches 750M Yuan
Jul 07, 2015 06:47 AM EDT

• 

With Chinese counter-terrorism efforts continuing despite significant difficulties, drones are eyed as the solution to the deficiencies of intelligence work. (Photo : Reuters)



For the first five months of this year, China has already exported 160,000 units of civilian drones worth 750 million yuan. The statistic is 69 and 55 times higher than the January and May 2014 figures, respectively.

Officials from the customs of the southern city of Shenzhen stated that a "green channel" was established to facilitate a more efficient clearance of the unmanned vehicle. The area is where 99 percent of the country's civilian drones are exported from.

DJI, a Shenzhen-based technology company and a leading manufacturer of commercial and recreational drones, comprises nearly 70 percent of the global market share. It lists Europe and North America as its biggest customers.

Meanwhile, military companies are also now adapting unmanned craft to secure a market share as demand increases further.

Industry insiders revealed that state-owned defense contractors are converting their military drones to civilian ones to set foot on the lucrative market.

"Many state-owned defense enterprises have dedicated considerable resources to developing drones, and a large number of private companies have also become involved," China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp.'s Unmanned Aircraft Research Institute director Ma Hongzhong stated.

The firm, one of China's defense giants which previously focused on missiles and multiple rocket launcher systems, began to allocate funds in developing drones.

"Several years ago, we were only a research studio. But the company recently expanded it into an institute in order to use the company's cruise missile experience and expertise in drone research," Ma shared.

However, Ma pointed out that the conversion is not a simple matter of replacing weapons with nonmilitary features. One must also "reduce the production and operational costs to a level that clients can afford."

For Yang Shaowen, a senior manager at the country's unmanned aircraft division at the Aviation Industry Corp., "manufacturers should design drones specifically for the civilian sector rather than simply refitting military ones."

According to Aircraft Owner and Pilots Association of China secretary-general Zhang Feng, once the industry is fully developed and regulations are properly laid out, the country will need more than 10,000 civilian drones.

The technology has been beneficial in some businesses such as "agricultural pest control, environmental monitoring, geographic surveys, forest patrols, resource exploration and maritime operations."

Zhang also predicted that "the market value of developing, manufacturing, operating and maintaining these drones will reach 50 billion yuan ($8.18 billion) a year."



Read more: China’s Civilian Drone Export Rises, Reaches 750M Yuan : Tech : Yibada

 

[cirr]

Shenzhen is a paradise for startups.
View attachment 236127

Guangdong is in the midst of drawing up a drone li-ion battery standard。

 

[TaiShang]

I will post this here since drones and logistics are somewhat related:

Alibaba buys extra 5% in Singapore Post
July 9, 2015, Thursday |

ALIBABA said it will buy an extra 5 percent of Singapore Post Ltd for US$138 million to boost its stake to 14.5 percent as it aims to further boost its cross-border logistics capabilities, said a joint statement.

In May 2014, Alibaba bought 10.2 percent of Singapore Post for US$249 million.

Alibaba will also invest US$67.9 million for a 34 percent stake in Quantium Solutions International, a SingPost subsidiary that provides e-commerce logistics across the Asia-Pacific.

“We’ll work with Singapore Post more closely on logistics solutions for cross-border e-commerce merchants,” said Daniel Zhang, CEO of Alibaba Group.

 

[jkroo]

As I know the domestic leading logistics company SF-EXPRESS is now trying drones from DJI's competitor which has different business pattern from DJI.

But civilian drones market of China is big enough to support 2-3 giants.

And SF-EXPRESS' new logistics programe 丰巢 is now competing with Alibaba's logistics program - 菜鸟物流联盟. Interesting.

 

[terranMarine]

This is where DJI pulls away from the competition.

The aerial-imaging drone maker has already shown that it's ahead of others when it comes to simple-to-use, but powerful ready-to-fly quadcopters with this year's Phantom 3 line as well as 2014's pro-focused Inspire 1 model, a key feature of which is its modular Zenmuse X3 camera and gimbal system, giving owners an easy upgrade path. A path that got a little longer today with the announcement of the Zenmuse X5 and X5R.

At the Interdrone Conference in Las Vegas, DJI introduced the two DJI-made camera and gimbal systems that both feature a 16-megapixel Micro Four Thirds (MFT) sensor and lens mount. The company joined the MFT alliance in February, a group established by Olympus and Panasonic to promote the MFT camera system standard. According to DJI, the X5 and X5R are world's first commercially available MFT cameras specifically designed for aerial use.

For images and complete article visit DJI Inspire 1 (Zenmuse X5) Preview - CNET