Drone manufacturers must invest time and money, early in the design cycle for simulation.
What is your opinion on the recent National Geospatial Policy 2022? What are the new opportunities that will be open for drone &GIS industry?
Geospatial Technology is an emerging technique to study real earth geographic information using Geographical Information Systems (GIS), and Remote Sensing (RS). Geospatial Technology has a wide range of applications in Agriculture, Urban & Rural Development, Delivery Services, Mining etc.
The recently launched Geospatial Policy 2022 is essentially a 13 Year Guideline aimed at enabling India to be a world leader in the global Geospatial Space. India’s geospatial economy is expected to grow at the rate of 12.8% till 2025 and could employ approximately 10 lakh people through Geospatial start-ups.
The Policy also outlines the formation of an apex body – the Geospatial Data Promotion and Development Committee (GDPDC). The GDPDC will be responsible for providing details on the use of geospatial data in governance across specific ministries and for enabling the development of private start-ups and companies to work on specific projects.
While today, satellites cover most of the land mass through imaging, drones have the potential to play a key role in mapping and surveying the details with unparalleled image and data resolution. This will aid precision agriculture, city mapping, atmospheric sounding, real-time monitoring and homeland security.
As of today, metropolitan city authorities in India are already using drones to map and measure plot sizes for taxation and records.
What are the key technologies/solutions provided by Hexagon for Drone industry only?
Hexagon offers end-to-end solutions for Drones industries. The range of solutions spans Design to Manufacturing through our Manufacturing Intelligence Solutions and Geosystems solutions.
Manufacturing Intelligence provides solutions starting with Reverse Engineering of existing technology, design modification, multi-domain numerical simulation of new or existing designs, design optimisation, manufacturing feasibility study, simulation for subtractive and additive manufacturing processes and finally, high accuracy precision metrology for the post-production parts, sub-systems and drone systems.
Hexagon Geosystems provides digital solutions that capture, measure, and visualise the physical world, with industrial applications including but not limited to Agriculture, Energy and Power Generation, Forestry, Mining and Transportation to name just a few.
What are some of the challenges that the GIS & Drone industry faces?
Some of the biggest challenges of this industry include the skewed supply-to-demand ratio, the long drone development cycle, and certification.
Currently, imported drone components seem attractive to designers due to their low cost. However, in the long run, indigenisation will be key from the point of view of sustainability, scalability and national security. The ‘Make In India’ initiative is paving the path to achieve the same.
What are the key challenges Hexagon faces in deploying smart technologies in the Drone sector?
Start-ups and new players in the drone industry are hesitant to invest time and money, early in the design cycle for simulation.
The direct return on investment that an organisation sees through simulation is assumed to be that only pertaining to certification. However, most designers search for a simulation solution later in the design cycle, when they realize that experimental testing alone can be expensive, iterative, and time-consuming. This is especially true for material selection and testing, and multi-physics phenomena such as aero elasticity, thermo-structural analysis, bird strike etc. This can be mitigated by integrating simulation right from the initial design cycle by engaging with Hexagon.
What are the recent innovations of Hexagon in India and Worldwide?
Hexagon has developed a new platform called Nexus for collaborative innovation. Nexus empowers teams with data-driven insights by connecting data from multiple sources and creating a digital thread that offers unprecedented access to information.
Users can collaborate in real time across the product lifecycle – from design and engineering to production and quality.
What are the opportunities for new start who want to associate with you?
Hexagon has start-up offerings which enable start-ups to access multiple solutions at an affordable cost. Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence India has also completed the first edition of the Start-Up India Challenge recently and will continue to support Indian start-ups through such events.
Please visit Startup India and Hexagon invite entrepreneurs to compete for (mcadcafe.com) for more details.
How is Hexagon working towards creating a sustainable future? And is Hexagon able to manage a successful outreach strategy?
Hexagon’s innovative solutions are designed to contribute to environmental and social sustainability by improving efficiency, quality, and safety in a broad array of industries and societal applications. But its sustainability journey, in specific, is not only determined by the role that its solutions play in the market, but also by its own processes and actions.
Hexagon has developed a sustainability programme called R-evolution https://r-evolution.com/ which is designed in the manner to take an active part in the sustainability revolution — leading a charge straight through the impasse of inertia, challenging assumptions and laying the framework for a new business model that profitably solves the world’s greatest environmental problems.
Finally, what is your perception of Indian Drone Industry? What are your suggestions for upcoming start-ups?
The Indian drone industry is one of the fastest-growing industries. There is a growth of 35.5% in the number of start-ups in India.
The drone analytics market is estimated to be valued at $2.1 Bn in 2022 and is projected to reach $6.5 Bn by 2027, at a CAGR of 25.5%, as per a report by MarketsandMarkets.
For start-ups, it is important to reduce their lead time for product development and minimize physical tests. Therefore, they should adopt simulation drive design and manufacturing to reduce cost and develop a quality product.
