Soaring industry needs some new ideas

China's drone production is flying high, but for continued success the nation's manufacturers need to stay ahead of the game

In the past few years, the global development of drones for civilian use has been growing rapidly.

Figures from the Gaogong Industry Institute show that in 2015 global sales of drones for civilian use amounted to 970,000 units. That figure is expected to reach 1.71 million in 2016, a 76.29 percent increase. In the next five years, annual growth will reach about 65 percent.

As the biggest manufacturer of the devices, China's drone industry has seen rapid growth, especially since 2014. GGII's figures show that the sales in China will reach about 1.6 billion yuan ($234 million; 217 million euros; 187 million), double the figure for 2015. And it is predicted that by 2025 the size of the industry will reach 75 billion yuan.

Several factors have pushed forward the rapid growth of the industry in China.

The first is that the country has a mature drone industry supply chain and has manufacturing clusters. Most companies in the drone industry are based in Shenzhen, so components can be bought conveniently at low cost.

Secondly, with the development of smart phone technology, the cost of hardware such as sensors, magnetic compasses and accelerometers has been decreasing - by about 20 percent this year.

China's drones have gone global. According to GGII figures, in 2015 China exported around 713,000, worth 3.43 billion yuan. From January to May this year, around 581,900 were exported, an increase of 257 percent on the same period last year.

About 70 percent of the world's drone makers are based in China and companies like DJI Technology Co account for more than 50 percent of global market share.

China's position as market leader is secure but, with the development of technology, what will happen in the future remains to be seen. There are still some shortcomings in China's business model and capacity for innovation.

The United States has strong technology and its intelligent hardware and software industries are very advanced. It is more innovative than China and as internet giants such as Amazon, Google and Facebook make use of drones, there will be more possibilities for the varied business models.

China's drone industry is experiencing explosive growth. Now is the time for the industry to reshuffle and for companies to innovate their technology and business models to stay competitive.

The rapid development of the industry has left China's drone development facing some problems. At present, there no mature or complete industry standards and regulations. This results in vicious competition and other problems.

The safety of some drones also needs attention. Many are unable to automatically avoid obstacles and their performance can be unstable in regions where the GPS signal is relatively weak, which has caused some accidents.

Flight duration and capacity need to be improved. At present, most drones can fly for only about 30 minutes, which restricts more extensive use in areas such as logistics and plant protection.

The writer is a senior researcher with the Gaogong Industry Institute

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

(China Daily European Weekly 11/18/2016 page8)