Drone-as-a-service model gains traction with clients across industries

Drones are ushering in new opportunities for the country in the fields of logistics, agriculture, infrastructure, and disaster management, according to a report by The Financial Express (FE). The global drone market was valued at $30.03 billion in 2022.

Deployment in agriculture

The deployment of drones in agriculture has brought crucial advancements to the sector. Tanuj Mittal, director of customer process experience at Dassault Systemes, India, was quoted as saying that in order to get enhanced productivity and reduced costs, drones can be fitted with sensors and cameras to get data on weather, irrigation, and soil conditions.

Uday Dodla, senior director of Automotive Business Development, at Qualcomm India, said that drones help farmers by providing real-time reports and visuals of farm and environmental conditions and enabling precision farming.

Utility in border management

Commander Ramesh Madhavan, co-founder and COO of Tunga Aerospace Industries was quoted as saying that drones with advanced features like AI, real-time data access, thermal imaging, and precise target tracking increase efficiency in activities such as border management, and surveillance. Drones with AI and facial recognition can also assist in managing crowds and identifying individuals with criminal records in crowded areas, he added.

Recently, drone-mounted ground penetrating radars have been used along the India-Pakistan border to detect underground tunnels.

Utilisation in E-commerce

E-commerce and logistics companies also deploy drones to bring efficiency into operations and solve delivery challenges. Rimanshu Pandey, co-founder and CTO of TSAW Drones stated that drones help logistics firms in reducing fuel consumption and improving route planning. Integration of drones into routine operations requires attention to regulatory norms such as licensing and data privacy, he added.