Thanos founder says Indian drone companies face shortage of skilled talent

Pradeep Parelli, founder and CEO of Thanos, one of India’s first drone manufacturing companies, said drone companies in India, including manufacturers and customer service providers, are facing a shortage of skilled talent. He says he is.

“We’re going to need 300,000 to 400,000 drones across the country. It’s a recurring market. Given that drones have a limited lifespan, those 300,000 to 400,000 drones have a huge “It means there are as many co-pilots or assistants as there are pilots. So this is a somewhat specialized industry and requires a lot of human resources,” he said. business line in online interactions.

At the same time, training institutions are being established, and organizations such as Thanos, which was launched in May 2016, have also entered into partnerships. “We continue to work with agricultural universities and industrial training institutes specifically aimed at maintenance technicians. and sales roles,” Parelli said.

Pradeep Parelli, Founder and CEO of Thanos

Meet growing demand

Now that the problem has been identified and people understand the need for drones, it’s time to scale up. “That’s where the government comes in. There are several service providers emerging and we plan to partner with them,” said the founder and CEO of Thanos, which began producing drones in 2021. Told.

Thanos operates 2,500 drones this year and plans to operate around 8,000 drones over the next few years, and also plans to create service providers in B2B and other areas. This is to ensure that the vision of automation is resolved, as well as issues such as skilled labor, he said.

Remote Pilot Training Organizations (RPTOs) help train pilots and service providers. Partnerships with national skills training institutes and others will help create enough talent to actually address this, said the founder and CEO of homegrown company Thanos. is looking to raise capital through a fundraising over the next three to four months.

According to the Prime Minister, the Didi Drone Program will be the largest aid project in which 15,000 women’s self-help groups will receive drones and women will be trained in drone operation and maintenance. Recently, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi witnessed nationwide demonstrations, Thanos was among the companies that demonstrated 50 of their drones in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

The plan is likely to come after the polls.

15,000 drones will be delivered over the next two years. “Aside from training institutes, the women are also being trained by our company and several other OEM manufacturers. The center has already started this activity in collaboration with fertilizer companies such as IFFCO.” Parelli said.

The government will also enable the sale of drones that will enable bank loans to various schemes. Subsidies of more than 50% may also be provided, and individuals may have to pay between 20 and 50% of the total cost of the drone.

He said that after the elections, many states like Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh may plan to promote drones. It added that regulations for manufacturers would be forthcoming.

Parelli said Thanos understands how the technology works as a pioneer in the field and is looking to scale up to ensure the technology reaches every village in the country.

Three challenges in agriculture

When the company started, it felt there was a lot more that could be done with drones to address the issue of manual labor, especially in agriculture.

“Basically, we identified three problems: labor shortages, inefficiencies and irregularities in spraying, and the third, which is underreported, is the health effects of spraying,” he said. Ta.

Thanos felt that the three problems could be solved by automating the solution. “That’s where drones come in. Drones solve these problems in one fell swoop,” said the company’s founder and CEO.

The company demonstrated its first prototype using a 5-liter drone in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh in 2017, becoming the first company to partner with all agrochemical companies in India. Thanos, who then scaled up the drone to a 10-liter one, had the opportunity to work with all of these companies that had done some work in China, Europe, and several other countries.

The greatest potential in agriculture

“They wanted to try something in India in 2017. At that time, university professors were either not aware or did not do enough research. On the commercial side, chemical companies were active We started working together in 2017,” he said.

The company’s capabilities, which until 2021 were providing spraying services on about 5,000 acres, are primarily in the design and manufacturing of drones. Agriculture is a focus area and the company believes it is the largest commercial use for drones.

“In the commercial sector, agriculture has the greatest application potential, where hundreds of thousands of drones are regularly required,” Parelli said, adding that the company is considering the Secretary’s strict restrictions on drones. In the first few years, we made progress towards 2021. Civil Aviation General.

Thanos continued the pilot project until 2021, when the government announced regulations. “Starting in 2021, we also started scaling up in terms of production facilities and requirements, as drones were adopted on a large scale,” the company’s founder said.

Advantages of lithium ion batteries

Thanos is different from other drone companies, supplying hundreds of drones to five southern and central states. The company designs drones, but other companies import full or semi-knockdown kits.

The company was one of the first to use lithium-ion batteries in agricultural drones. “This gives us the advantage of having the longest flight time of any agricultural drone,” said Parelli, who works with a team of 40 members.

The Hyderabad-based company has so far produced over 300 drones at its manufacturing facility in the capital Telangana and has recorded the use of drones in over 25,000 acres of agricultural fields.

The company operates in the B2B segment and most of its customers are service providers. “Some of these B2B companies of his have 10 or more drones. Some have 3 to 6 drones,” Parelli said. .

He said the federal government has been very supportive, including in terms of policy, and said the drone program would soon be implemented by the state government.

unique serial number

Apart from holding technology demonstrations at Krishi Vigyan Kendras, Thanos is also looking to leverage custom employment centers and farmer producer organizations.

He said the drone market was unregulated, with many imported and assembled kits, and that companies that produced certified drones were trying to make a name for themselves by educating users. “But a lot of things will change as the government implements a lot of guidelines,” Pirelli said.

Drones have a unique serial number, which can be found on the DGCA portal, but some drones do not have a serial number, and the serial number can be 5-10 times the serial number generated on the DGCA portal (possibly 3,500 to 3,700). “Every certified drone can be found in the form of a small aluminum-based license plate on one of its components,” said the company’s founder and CEO.

Thanos has partnered with several RPTOs, particularly those based in Mysore and Pune, which can serve as a one-stop shop for other services such as insurance, financing, and licensing.

Other features

The unique feature of Thanos’ drone is that it has the advantage of being built-in and capable of providing appropriate services and dealing with any problems that arise. “On the technical side, we use carbon fiber and aerospace-grade aluminum, both of which are very tough and strong materials, and we use lightweight, high-strength materials. In contrast, 90 percent of companies using certain load-bearing components are made of nylon or nylon-composite plastics,” Perelli said.

This material offers the benefits of lithium-ion batteries with longer lifespans and longer flight times when used in the application of insecticides, insecticides, and pesticides, plus more durability and sturdiness. The drone’s flight time is 22 minutes, not including the time it takes to fill the tank, and the battery lasts 300 cycles.

“It’s not like they die after that. They have 50% uptime compared to new ones, so you can use them as a backup,” said the company’s founder and CEO.

Thanos has two drone models, one of which has additional features such as front and rear obstacle avoidance sensors, a built-in screen with 4G SIM, and a small camera. The advanced version costs Rs 100,000 more.