DJI Announces Agricultural Market Strategy for China
DJI, 3/21/16
Shenzhen-based consumer drone maker DJI Technology recently announced its strategy for the agricultural market in China, and provided additional details on its crop-spraying drone MG-1 which was previously unveiled in November 2015.
DJI said that in 2016 it will implement four main measures to develop its agricultural drone industry ecosystem:
1. Establish demonstration fields for crop spraying throughout China and will work with local organizations to establish specialized crop protection teams, develop aerial protection operations for major crops, vegetables, flowers, and fruit trees, and create an aerial protection database;
2. Partner with local training organizations to train 10,000 professional agricultural drone operators. The first training exercises will be held in Shenzhen, Beijing, Chengdu, Nanjing, and Changsha, and the program will later expand to other first-tier cities and key cities in agriculturally developed areas;
3. Launch a "10,000 crop protection pioneers" program. Users meeting requirements will be able to apply for a collateral-free loan to purchase the MG-1 and attend a training program at certain schools;
4. Establish 100 after-sales service centers within its sales coverage area by the end of this year.
The MG-1 drone has industrial-grade protection against dust, water, and corrosion and an integrated internal cooling system which extends its overall operating life by as much as 300%. An eight-axis motion system enables the drone to land safely in the event of a rotor failure.
The MG-1 features smart, manual, and enhanced manual operating modes. It can be given a path to follow to perform crop spraying operations automatically without requiring a field survey beforehand. Its position memory function allows the drone to remember its location whenever it needs to be refilled, so that it can quickly return to the same position to continue spraying. When switching between internal battery sources, an electronic interruption mechanism protects the MG-1's flight control, sensing, and route planning systems while the drone itself remains in flight.
The MG-1 will be sold by sales distributors in mainland China, Japan, and South Korea starting in late March. The suggested price for mainland China sales is RMB 52,999. Users can log in to the DJI website to look up a local distributor.
Editor's Note: For more information on this topic, please see "DJI Unveils USD 15,000 Smart Pesticide Spraying Drone," MD 11/27/15 issue.
Keywords: rural hardware strategy after-sales service drone DJI agriculture pricing
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