After starting its office at the Sunrise Incubation Hub here recently for its ambitious unit, the AP Innovation Society is planning to roll out the first drone manufactured in the State from New Year.

“We have decided to undertake a soft launch in January as a prelude to the commercial launch in March,” APIS CEO Valli Kumari Vatsavayi told The Hindu on Wednesday. She said there was tremendous response to the drone manufacturing facility being developed in the city with patronage from the State government.

An investment of ₹1 crore would be made in the project during the first year of operation. The centre will produce drones costing ₹1 lakh depending on its configuration like lens, accessories and range of its operation.

Price advantage

Ms. Valli Kumari said they would manufacture 25 drones per month from March once the facility turned fully operational. “The drones produced here under the Make in Andhra Pradesh programme will cost less than the private manufacturers. We can make a normal drone for ₹1 lakh which costs ₹4 lakh to ₹5 lakh if sourced from a private manufacturer,” she said. As part of its resolve to promote innovation culture among youngsters, they would also have a R&D lab and reverse engineering lab. The prototypes would be put to commercial use through research by startups and innovators at the facility started at the Sunrise Incubation Hub.

Network of mentors

A network of mentors, including IITs and foreign institutes, had been developed to partner in the project. The government would procure the drones for land registry, soil mapping, police surveillance through various departments, she said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Andhra Pradesh / by Santosh Patnaik / Visakhapatnam – October 19th, 2017