In the consumer drones segment, we all know that DJI is the
king, however, 3D Robotics (3DR) as one of its rivals wants to make a
breakthrough in the commercial drones segment. Not long ago, the company that's
founded by the famous journalist, Chris Anderson, announced its cooperation
with Autodesk and Sony to develop a new drone for commercial needs.
This new drone is actually a special variant of 3DR Solo.
The main difference lays in camera component, in which this variant doesn’t
rely on GoPro product anymore, but Sony's camera that's able of capturing
images in more detail and also uploading the data directly to the cloud.
This special variant will be sold together with a Sony
tablet that has been filled by FORGE software of Autodesk. FORGE will be
responsible for processing all collected data so it can be analyzed easily by
workers in the field.
According to Autodesk, this collaboration is based on the
large demand of the construction companies. Almost all construction companies
who've cooperated with Autodesk expressed a desire to take advantage of drones
on the ground for inspection or survey which will be more easily done from a
height.
So if earlier the workers had to climb up the tall tower to
conduct inspections, now that risky task will be handed over to 3DR Solo. The
drone will take pictures and upload all the data needed to be further evaluated
before starting the next construction phase.
Actually 3DR is not the only company that's targeting the
commercial market. DJI had already launched a drone for agricultural purposes
and also heat detection camera for drones. Not only DJI, Parrot recently also
introduced a line of drone's accessories for agriculture.
The 3DR Solo special variant will be sold starting next June
for $ 4,999, plus a subscription fee of $ 499 per month. 3DR in the future will
also launch other accessories for commercial needs, such as multispectral
camera, heat detection camera, and also a set of special hardware for
agricultural field, chemical plants, and oil mining.