Why GoPro own drones
GoPro, the maker of popular action cameras, plans to launch its own line of consumer drones next year. The price will vary between $ 500-1000 for a device that will become a direct competitor to drones from DJI, Parrot and 3D Robotics.
The fast-growing drone market is an opportunity the company cannot afford to miss
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But why GoPro, this idea, instead of starting to produce aircraft with one of the existing players? Moreover, most drones have a mount for GoPro cameras, and where there is none, you can use a custom latch. Is it not easier for companies to focus on cameras, and to get additional profit from partner sales?
After a successful IPO, a company can afford to take risks and launch a new product line to diversify its revenues. Drones are also an amazing product - buy one and you will need to upgrade your camera right away, and vice versa. And after DJI and Parrot presented their own aircraft with built-in cameras, GoPro wants to avoid being left out of business. They have interests in the media - all these colorful frames and extreme videos can be found commercially in the future. And GoPro will definitely want to have sole control over the distribution of content.
GoPro, one might say, was lucky: it will be easy for the company to create a device that can successfully compete with other drones. After all, in fact, this is a well-known to all remote-controlled helicopters that are operated by people for more than a decade. Several additional rotors, a camera - without all this, they will remain just copters on the radio control. And all their stuffing appeared with the development of mobile technologies.
“Details for smartphones, such as sensors, GPS sensors, a camera, multi-core processors, batteries, etc., all cost a few dollars. Unavailable they were 10 years ago. All that used to be military-industrial technology can now be bought at the nearest electronics store, ”explains Chris Anderson, who left the position of Wired Editor for the sake of 3D Robotics. Due to the availability of components, GoPro will be able to create its own drone for a year or two, and the company will not need to spend a lot of money on research and development.
Of course, creating drones for a mass user is easier than for business customers. Google and Amazon are planning to use drones as a standalone delivery service. Only the United States Federal Aviation Administration has not yet established clear rules on how such UAVs can be used, and this somewhat slows down the matter. On the other hand, the consumer drones market is actively developing. Over the past month, there have been news from DJI and Parrot , and 3D Robotics has hired former DJI CEO Colin Guinn and has already promised to show its own device in the near future.
Consequently, GoPro tends to take its place in the niche, where it is already quite closely. Although the credibility of the brand and its reputation will help launch their own devices to the market, especially if you connect to this famous athletes. As for the long-term perspective, the company will have to compete with other manufacturers in price, performance and device performance. But while the drones market is still far from saturation.
Speaking at a recent presentation of the new Inspire One, the CEO of DJI called the device not a drone, but an “aerial camera”. And this makes some sense. In the absence of a better term, we call the drone apparatus, which is actually an airplane, a camera, and a smartphone at the same time. We still have a weak idea of ​​their capabilities and the size of the consumer market. And GoPro wants to understand what the industry is capable of, one of the first.
The author: Dima Figol
Based on: The Verge
The fast-growing drone market is an opportunity the company cannot afford to miss
')
But why GoPro, this idea, instead of starting to produce aircraft with one of the existing players? Moreover, most drones have a mount for GoPro cameras, and where there is none, you can use a custom latch. Is it not easier for companies to focus on cameras, and to get additional profit from partner sales?
After a successful IPO, a company can afford to take risks and launch a new product line to diversify its revenues. Drones are also an amazing product - buy one and you will need to upgrade your camera right away, and vice versa. And after DJI and Parrot presented their own aircraft with built-in cameras, GoPro wants to avoid being left out of business. They have interests in the media - all these colorful frames and extreme videos can be found commercially in the future. And GoPro will definitely want to have sole control over the distribution of content.
GoPro, one might say, was lucky: it will be easy for the company to create a device that can successfully compete with other drones. After all, in fact, this is a well-known to all remote-controlled helicopters that are operated by people for more than a decade. Several additional rotors, a camera - without all this, they will remain just copters on the radio control. And all their stuffing appeared with the development of mobile technologies.
“Details for smartphones, such as sensors, GPS sensors, a camera, multi-core processors, batteries, etc., all cost a few dollars. Unavailable they were 10 years ago. All that used to be military-industrial technology can now be bought at the nearest electronics store, ”explains Chris Anderson, who left the position of Wired Editor for the sake of 3D Robotics. Due to the availability of components, GoPro will be able to create its own drone for a year or two, and the company will not need to spend a lot of money on research and development.
Of course, creating drones for a mass user is easier than for business customers. Google and Amazon are planning to use drones as a standalone delivery service. Only the United States Federal Aviation Administration has not yet established clear rules on how such UAVs can be used, and this somewhat slows down the matter. On the other hand, the consumer drones market is actively developing. Over the past month, there have been news from DJI and Parrot , and 3D Robotics has hired former DJI CEO Colin Guinn and has already promised to show its own device in the near future.
Consequently, GoPro tends to take its place in the niche, where it is already quite closely. Although the credibility of the brand and its reputation will help launch their own devices to the market, especially if you connect to this famous athletes. As for the long-term perspective, the company will have to compete with other manufacturers in price, performance and device performance. But while the drones market is still far from saturation.
Speaking at a recent presentation of the new Inspire One, the CEO of DJI called the device not a drone, but an “aerial camera”. And this makes some sense. In the absence of a better term, we call the drone apparatus, which is actually an airplane, a camera, and a smartphone at the same time. We still have a weak idea of ​​their capabilities and the size of the consumer market. And GoPro wants to understand what the industry is capable of, one of the first.
The author: Dima Figol
Based on: The Verge
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/363515/
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