Garuda Aerospace has carved a unique path by creating several use cases for drones in sectors such as agriculture, industry, Power, infrastructure, mining and sanitisation, among others. Sanjana Mohan speaks to the man behind the show
Garuda Aerospace is one of the leading drone start-ups in India that has gained ground over the past few years. It has been involved in several drone-based sanitisation projects to prevent the spread of Covid19 recently. Founded in 2016, Garuda Aerospace is an ISO 9001 firm (a certification that is rare for a drone start-up), that designed an agricultural drone that was selected as one the top 10 social-economic innovations of 2016 by the United Nations. The firm has since designed novel solutions to address issues in diverse sectors.
Contrary to the perception that drones are used only for films, events and surveillance, Garuda Aerospace has carved a unique path by creating several use cases for drones in other sectors, such as agriculture, industry, Power, infrastructure, mining and sanitisation. Edited excerpts from an interview with Agnishwar Jayaprakash, the man behind the show:
What is Garuda’s vision in India’s fight against Covid-19?
We are disinfecting and sanitising a vast area of 3.28 million sq. km in India to prevent the spread of Covid-19. We are assisting in places where public workers find it impossible to reach by manual spraying process. Our DaaS (Drones as a Service) ecosystem can accomplish the sanitisation operations in a quarter of the time. Automated Sanitisation operations aim to address the inaccessibility, speed and efficiency of public health workers who are conducting manual spraying operations under severe health risks to themselves and their families.
How can your technology be integrated into the current battle against Covid-19?
Corona Killer (CK) is an Automated Disinfecting UAV that aids in sanitisation of public spaces, hospitals and tall buildings. Drone operations are faster, last longer and a lot safer than manual spraying carried out by the health workers, who can become potential carriers of Covid-19. But, only large scale use of drones would make the innovation sustainable. Drones also have the advantage of reach and can access heights up to 450 feet and spray disinfectants on buildings, something that is impossible to accomplish in manual spraying operations. We have proposed a Drone-based Swachh Bharat campaign to Clean India regularly to prevent the spread of Covid-19. This would also help us be prepared for any future pandemic and infectious diseases that may arise due to unhygienic conditions
What makes the company unique?
Garuda Aerospace is an ISO 9001 company and has executed several government orders over the past four years. Our CK-100 sanitisation drone, currently being used in 26 cities, was selected as one of the top 10 socio-economic innovations on Oct 24, 2016 by the CEO of Niti Aayog, Amitabh Kant, who presided over the UN day celebrations. CK-100 consists of patented autopilot technology, advanced flight control system and is equipped with fuel-efficient motors that enable the drone to deploy for 12 hours a day. The features include Payload capacity of 15-20 litres, flight duration of 40-45 minutes and maximum ceiling height of 450 feet which is sufficient to disinfect 99% of tall buildings across India. Each drone can cover 20 km a day. Our existing fleet of 300 CK-100 drones can conduct sanitisation operations covering 6000 km every single day. Garuda Aerospace has also designed a unique UBER like DaaS tech platform which will aggregate over 16,000 drones from our associate companies ready to be deployed across India if a massive Swachh Bharat Campaign using drones is launched.
Where all have your drones been used so far?
We have received work orders from Smart city municipal corporations of Varanasi, Raipur, Bhopal and municipal corporation in Chandigarh, Jaggayaapeta, Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh. Apart from these, we are servicing eight states and 26 cities. Several private companies have signed three-year contracts for conducting sanitisation operations using drones in and around their premises. Additionally, we have been of service to the Tamil Nadu Electricity Department and the TN Health department to commence sanitisation operations. Garuda Aerospace drones have also been deployed during emergency operations such as Chennai Floods 2015, Cyclone Vardha 2016, Kerala Floods and now the Coronavirus pandemic.
What advantages do you hold over your competitors to scale and execute large scale orders for the Government or private sectors?
Having secured ₹ 3.5 crore in funding over the past four years, Garuda Aerospace is one of the very few profitable drone manufacturing and DaaS companies that exist in India. Being able to function out of 26 cities and having a pan India presence is a definitive advantage. We have focused on the B2G market for the past three years, having serviced the forest department, police, electricity department, metro, water and the city corporation departments. Over the years, we have grown into a very reliable company, manufacturing indigenous drones in India and continue to be guided by retired IAS, IPS, Army and RAW officers. We are also being advised financially by several corporate honchos such as Boeing, KPMG, Trans Advisory, CBRE etc. With our existing advantages, we aspire to scale from a national market leader to a global market player in the next one year.
Garuda Aerospace is also one of the very few aerospace companies which are ISO 9001 Certified. Technology has been validated by the CBRE (Coldwell Banker Richard Ellis) Group, Inc., which is an American commercial real estate service and investment firm. It is the largest commercial real estate services company in the world. The firm had conducted an independent study and validated our drone-based innovation as a game-changer in the sanitisation industry in the years to come.
What were the challenges in setting up the business?
As is the case with any start-up, nothing came easy. We had to really drive the need for drones and automation in India. Most people have the inertia to try anything new in general, drones were no different. In fact, drone technology faced several regulatory roadblocks which have stunted the growth of the industry for many years. Jeff Bezos during his first visit to India in 2014 said Amazon will commence drone deliveries in 6 months’ time. After 6 years, he said the same when he visited India in 2020. If the richest man in the world with unlimited resources found it challenging to get the ball rolling in this sector, one can imagine how difficult it must have been for a start-up! However, we have endured the tough times and Covid-19 situation has shed light on the importance of technology and automation where drones are right among the top 5 on that list.
