DJI aims for intelligent drone-flying era

China's DJI Technology Co Ltd, the world's leading consumer drones maker, aims to launch a new era of intelligent flying by equipping its drones with smart functions.

In March, the Shenzhen-based company unveiled Phantom 4, the latest model of its Phantom series, in New York, which is said to be the first consumer drone that uses computer vision and sensing technology with new features like Obstacle Sensing System, "ActiveTrack" and "TapFly".

The Obstacle Sensing System features two forward-facing optical sensors that scan for obstacles and automatically directs the aircraft around an impediment when possible, reducing the risk of collision while ensuring flight direction remains constant.

With the ActiveTrack function, users have the ability to continuously keep the device's onboard camera focused on a selected subject no matter what direction it flies. By using the TapFly function, users can double-tap a destination for their drone on the screen, and the device calculates an optimal flight route to reach the destination, while avoiding obstructions in its path.

"With the Phantom 4, we are entering an era where even beginners can fly with confidence," said DJI CEO Frank Wang in a statement. "People have dreamed about one day having a drone collaborate creatively with them. That day has arrived."

To help participants build their applications based on DJI's software development kit (SDK) suite and create a more robust application ecosystem for drones, DJI launched SDK 3.0, a new version of its SDK, an open, flexible and user-friendly software platform for both iOS and Android users, at the Consumer Electronics Show in January in Las Vegas.

"What we do every year for the last three years is to give developers a challenge to build an app and we give them a theme. This year's theme is search and rescue," said Adam Najberg, DJI's global director of communications, explaining that the app was aimed to help find survivors in natural disasters.

"A drone is not just for enthusiastic photographers but now there are practical applications to save lives or make life better because of that," he added.

With the new platform, new companies are being created, and DJI is helping seed some of them with SkyFund, an investment vehicle backed by DJI and Accel, according to Najberg. "Companies are coming up that are creating different applications for different commercial and industrial sectors," he said.

During the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January, DJI also launched Phantom 3 4K, a 4K Wi-Fi edition of DJI's popular easy-to-fly Phantom 3 Series with 4K aerial camera, for the US market.

The US is a developed market with people who understand the technology better, and it's a very good market for Chinese drones makers to sell into, said Adam Najberg, DJI's global director of communications.

The 9-year-old company has 70 percent of the global market share, with the US being its largest market.

liazhu@chinadailyusa.com