This website uses cookies and other technologies to help us provide you with better content and customized services. If you want to continue to enjoy this website’s content, please agree to our use of cookies. For more information on cookies and their use, please see our latest Privacy Policy.

Accept

cwlogo

切換側邊選單 切換搜尋選單

In Taiwan, a national drone fleet rises from the ruins

In Taiwan, a national drone fleet rises from the ruins

Source:Ming-Tang Huang

Chinese brand DJI is the world’s leader in drones. Taiwan’s government has banned Chinese manufacturers from government purchases and established an R&D base. Consequently, despite lagging far behind, a national drone fleet is taking shape.

Views

1937
Share

In Taiwan, a national drone fleet rises from the ruins

By Meng-hsuan Yang, Elaine Huang
From CommonWealth Magazine (vol. 757 )

In mid-August, President Tsai Ing-wen appeared at the site of a well-known decommissioned college in Chiayi County - the former campus of National Taiwan University of Physical Education and Sport.

Seven years after being abandoned, the expansive campus was overgrown with grass and weeds. Last year, under the promotion of the Chiayi County government, it was made the site of a new research and development (R&D) center. During her visit, President Tsai proclaimed the ambition to forge a “national drone fleet for Taiwan” here.

無人機-亞創中心-大疆-國家隊-資安(Source: Ming-Tang Huang)

Half a month later, the startup team moving into the Asia Drone AI Innovation Applied R&D Center experienced a bout of shock therapy.

During a tour of the premises, Liu Hung-ju, director of the National Fire Administration’s Disaster Relief section, stated frankly that domestically -produced drones suffer from inconsistent quality, and that the MIT (Made in Taiwan) drones purchased by fire departments in various counties and municipalities around Taiwan “are only good for displaying; no one dares fly them.”

This, he said, is because “when it’s in flight, it’s like the drone is controlling me, not like I am in control of the aircraft.”

In recent years, the Taiwan Forestry Bureau has used drones to survey forested land, and the Directorate General of Highways has used them to inspect bridges and elevated roadway structures. The fire administration, for its part, uses them to aid rescue efforts.

For instance, when a 70- year-old man went missing in a mountain valley near Nanhua in May of 2021, the Tainan City fire department employed drones to survey the terrain and plan rescue routes, contributing to a successful rescue.

A government procurement website indicates that over the past three years the government has spent nearly NT$800 million to purchase unmanned autonomous vehicle (drone) hardware, software, and services.

As drones are equipped with such sensitive functions as cameras and wireless communications, they come under the Executive Yuan’s restrictions governing information and communications products manufactured by Chinese brands. According to policy, all such PRC brand products had to be eliminated and replaced by the end of 2021.

According to a 2020 audit by the Executive Yuan, a total of 51 public service agencies used 187 DJI brand drones, making it the third most-used Chinese brand after Hikvision Technology and Huawei.

DJI is the world’s leading brand in the drone field, with 70 percent of the market. It practically commands a monopoly, as well as leading the way in technology, like “the iPhone of the drone world.” And Taiwanese government agencies previously used DJI drones nearly exclusively.

With the banning of DJI products, as government agencies respond to national policy and look to adopt products from domestic manufacturers, various situations have arisen with the “handmade” nature of these startups’ products due to Taiwan’s weak drone industry foundation.

According to Liu Hung-ju of the National Fire Administration, various problems with domestically -produced drones include excessive bulk and exposed cables and wires, making them look crudely assembled. Further, flight control and obstacle avoidance are suboptimal.

In the effort to get a better understanding of the situation, CommonWealth paid a visit to the city of Tainan, the first local government in Taiwan to establish a fleet of drones.

In an empty lot near the fire station, Chen Ming-chen, deputy chief of the Tainan City Fire Bureau, tests a red quadcopter his department purchased last year. Manufactured by Taiwan Drone 100, it can carry a payload of 1.5 kilograms, and is equipped with a loudspeaker.

無人機-亞創中心-台灣希望創新-國家隊-資安(Source: Ming-Tang Huang)

Taiwan Drone 100 is a startup company funded through investment by the Thunder Tiger Group, an established remote control model airplane brand. Noted for its capacity for operating multiple unmanned aircraft simultaneously, Taiwan Drone 100 has been commissioned to present a drone light show as part of the Penghu Fireworks Festival.

Real world testing showed that domestic drones were subject to signal interference from tall buildings, and acquired GPS signals only after many minutes of adjustments. In addition, there was notable lag in video signal reception.

Still, Chen believes that, compared to the past, which saw MIT drones crash from battery fires, marked improvements have been made over the past two years. At least, he notes, domestically -produced drones have successfully completed rescue missions.

Further testing flight stability, he reports with satisfaction that “controlling this model feels close to the level of DJI,” adding that “given some time, Taiwanese manufacturers will definitely do better.”

Headquartered in Tainan and founded by a team of graduates of National Chung Kung University’s Institute of Aerospace Science and Technology, Taiwan Drone 100 has also dispatched four engineers to Chiayi to work out of the Asia Drone AI Innovation Applied R&D Center.

經緯-亞創中心-無人機-國家隊-資安(Soirce: Ming-Tang Huang)

Chen Chun-chih, chief technology officer for Taiwan Drone 100, says that previously, when the company was too small, “suppliers wouldn’t give me the time of day.” Now, however, the treatment he gets in business discussions at the mention of the Asia Drone AI Innovation Applied R&D Center is like night and day from before. And a major Chiayi-based manufacturer is currently interested in joint development with sights set on deployment in the drone industry supply chain.

Naturally, resident vendors at the R&D center are well aware that, despite the “national fleet” designation, they are sharing a public agency purchasing pie consisting of only a few hundred drones per year. And they understand the great difficulties of trying to get into the rapidly -emerging, high-value agricultural drone market, or even making inroads into Southeast Asia, where they would have to go head to head with the likes of Chinese brands like DJI and XAG.

One executive at a Shanghai-based venture capital firm investing in the drone industry notes that DJI set its sights from the start on the aerial photography and videography applications of drone technology. DJI has a close rapport with local users on Chinese social media, and is constantly tweaking and enhancing performance based on user feedback.

With years of practice under their belts, DJI’s user experience and flight control systems crush the competition. “Flying a DJI (drone) is like driving a BMW; man and machine are one, and it goes wherever you want it to fly,” exclaimed the venture capital executive.

According to industry data, DJI, which remains privately held, saw revenue of US$2.5 billion in 2019, with an astonishing 59 percent profitability rate, and R&D expenditures nearing 20 percent of revenues.

無人機-大疆-DJI-中國-資安(Source: Getty Images)

The region around Shenzhen has already become a “drone capital,” as several hundred drone manufacturers engage in intense competition. DJI stands alone atop the consumer drone market, while Guangzhou’s XAG has made inroads in the agricultural drone market.

Taiwan can compete in service and customization

Taiwan also has electronics industry clusters; can it take advantage of the banning of PRC-based enterprises to foster the strong growth of its own drone industry?

無人機-經緯-國家隊-中國-資安(Source: Ming-Tang Huang)

“This is a great opportunity to train our forces,” relates Dr. Cheng-Fang Lo, president and CEO of GEOSAT aerospace & Technology, a major domestic drone manufacturer with close ties to the military, adding “the internal government agency market is actually quite substantial.”

Lo cites the example of the opportunities created by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications alone, which in the future entails smart inspection of 20,000 bridges around Taiwan. Then there is the post office, which intends to employ drones to make deliveries in remote villages, outlying islands, and high mountain settlements.

He estimates that over the next five years government agency procurement will reach demand of NT$10 billion.

According to data from the Cheng Seng Group, the largest licensed retailer of drone products in Taiwan, last year (2021) the Parrot brand from France saw sales growth of 50 percent, while the U.S.-based Autel brand achieved 40-percent growth.

For Taiwanese drone manufacturers, there is no better time than the present. The nationwide policy requiring that government agencies stay away from the Red Supply Chain, plus the tremendous performance of drones in the Russia-Ukraine war, offer Taiwan’s drone industry the opportunity to seize the moment.

From a national security perspective, there is certainly a need for Taiwan to develop its own drone industry. And as long as it focuses its efforts on service and customization, opportunities will surely arise.

無人機-坤暐-國家隊-中國-資安(Source: Pei-Yin Hsieh)

For instance, in addition to drone light shows, sales of firefighting drones account for half Taiwan Drone 100’s revenue. The key is accommodating the specific needs of various agencies.

Chen Chun-chih gives the example of the Changhua County Fire Bureau, which needs large-scale drones that can carry dual optical lenses; while the Tainan City Fire Bureau needs small- and medium-sized drones to which life preservers can be attached. “Through back- and- forth communication, we can achieve customization,” Chen asserts.


Have you read?

Translated by  David Toman
Edited by TC Lin
Uploaded by Ian Huang

Views

1937
Share

Keywords:

好友人數