Boonray Technology: Drone profitability doesnt necessarily rely solely on hardware sales | Entrepreneurship

Drones can do more than just aerial photography.

Some signs indicate that the drone market is cooling. At the 2016 CES International Consumer Electronics Show, over 100 drone manufacturers participated, but by 2017, fewer than 40 companies were present. In terms of funding, the global drone industry received only $55 million in funding in the third quarter of 2016, compared to $134 million in the same period of 2015. Meanwhile, more applications for drones are quietly being implemented, such as helping to repair jumbo jets, assisting with crop cultivation, and delivering packages, creating numerous business opportunities in logistics and agriculture.

"Drone manufacturers like DJI also have business-to-business (B2B) operations, but their focus remains on hardware, while we develop software. Think of it like DJI is Apple and we are developers developing apps for the iPhone," Jacky Hu, founder of Boonray Intelligence, told TechNode. The company is exploring how to expand its capabilities with drones. As a partner of DJI, Boonray can perform further secondary development and hardware modifications on DJI drones. They have developed an app called "Boonray Flight," which allows users to control drones automatically using a phone or iPad. By pre-setting a route, the drone can even automatically fly around buildings and bridges.

This technology is particularly useful in specific scenarios, such as inspections of photovoltaic power plants. PV plants also produce hot spots during operation, and elevated photovoltaic panels significantly increase the complexity of operation and maintenance. Boonray's solution replaces the drone's camera with a thermal imaging camera. Using image recognition technology, Boonray Flight ensures that the drone's flight path remains parallel to the photovoltaic panels. The resulting thermal images are then analyzed using Boonray's Perceive series of data analysis software to pinpoint the location of hot spots. This data is stored in Boonray's cloud data center, and integration with enterprise ERP systems allows operations and maintenance personnel to easily address these issues.

Such products and services are also used in some engineering surveys, such as bridge inspections. Filming tasks that once required multiple Spider-Mans can now be accomplished with drones. Following a pre-programmed route, drones can record potential cracks or other safety hazards across the entire bridge. Boonray has already established such partnerships with some local governments. They have developed data processing software tailored to different industries and application scenarios (such as aerial surveying, photovoltaic power plant inspections, and facility maintenance). Companies can purchase a complete solution, including drones, human services, and software, or just select individual components.

"DJI could certainly do these services themselves, but they haven't yet, focusing more on hardware. Our role is to build on their existing flight platforms and further develop application-specific solutions and software products tailored to specific scenarios, providing customized services. For example, the iPhone's camera is already excellent, but many people still use Meitu Xiuxiu. We play the same role as Meitu Xiuxiu," said Jacky Hu. Overseas, similar companies are developing more rapidly, such as Skycatch. Their mission is to capture high-definition images and video from high altitudes. Clients simply specify the data they need to collect on Skycatch's software platform, and Skycatch autonomously plans how to complete the task and transmit the data back to the user. Their business focuses primarily on the construction, mining, solar energy, and agriculture industries. In the mining industry, mining companies can track the amount of minerals they have mined in real time, assess the quality of the raw ore, and perform real-time analysis of other data. Like Boray, Skycatch also uses DJI drones.

In China, drone companies are mostly focused on hardware development, and Jacky Hu believes this will give Boray a first-mover advantage. Hardware products have a relatively short life cycle and are difficult to break through in terms of business models, while leveraging software and services offers a more organic approach. Jacky Hu envisions that once they gain a significant market share, they will be able to build a large database for related industries, which will be a new business model. Boray secured several million RMB in angel funding last year and is currently seeking a new round of financing.