Importance of teaming up with a Tethered Drone OEM with complete end-to-end capability when acquiring Tethered Drone Systems

Various industry segments and users have realised the importance of Tethered Drone Systems and agree that a long endurance platform is a necessity and provides unmatched capability and value to them. At Aerial IQ, we receive a large volume of enquiries and demo requests from across the length and breadth of the Indian Sub-continent as well as internationally. Customers want to quickly get a hold of Tethered Drone Technology and include it into their Security & Surveillance suite of assets. 

However, there is serious due diligence required before procuring such systems to ensure that the team on the ground gets the best system. One that aligns with their requirements and lasts a long time without any technical issues over the life of the system.

Tethered Drone Systems are high-tech systems with special Electrical, Aerospace and Mechanical sub systems specifically designed keeping in mind the long endurance, high stress and high electrical power nature of the operations. It takes a lot of time to design, integrate, extensively test such systems to ensure they are ready and certified for the end user. Only companies dedicated to the development of such complex systems (including all the sub-systems themselves) can control the risks and provide a capable and safe system.

Benefits of partnering and acquiring this capability from a Tethered Drone OEM

1. System robustness and product quality

2. Lower life cycle cost and long problem-free life of the system 

3. Direct OEM after sales support (vs support from many different companies in the case of White Labellers or other Standard Drone Manufacturers)

4. Customisation capability based on user requirement

5. Low downtime due to smaller lead times when solving technical issues

6. Timely upgrades (both software and hardware)

7. Competitive pricing

Due to the enormous market size and requirement being witnesses across different industry segments, most Standard Drone Manufacturers and White Labellers also aim to become Tethered Drone providers. However, by offering a third-party tether station, using third-party electrical systems and standard drones off the shelf, some companies think they have a ready Tethered Drone System that can be offered to customers without understanding the risks associated with it. For short term gains and in the hopes of making a quick buck, their end customer suffers immensely.  

Buyers need to be aware that going ahead with White Labellers and Standard Drone Providers who have not designed and developed the complete Tethered Drone System could be their biggest oversight when deciding to onboard such high-end technology. It is bound to cause a lot of issues - including system failures and a gamut of technical problems across the life of the system. This is mainly because -

• The selected drone and its propulsion system is not suited to handle the stresses associated with flying continuously for hours at a stretch with the additional weight of the cable and electrical converters on the drone.

• The integration of the tether station with the drone is an afterthought. The system, including avionics, were not originally designed to handle large electrical power and the associated Electromagnetic Interference (EMI/EMC). 

• The software (firmware and user application) is not designed for a Tethered Drone Operator. It does not provide enough safety checks to the user and is not equipped to handle the various electrical interfaces and providing enough safety checks to the user.

• The system most likely hasn’t gone through rigorous testing, changes and retesting since it’s difficult to do when the design hasn’t catered for changes required from testing data.

Some important questions to ask a vendor/company offering you a Tethered Drone System. This will help you understand whether they are the designers and OEM for the complete system or just offering you a system which wasn’t meant to be a Tethered Drone System.

1. Have you designed and developed the Ground Tether System yourself or is it a third-party system? (a Tethered Drone #OEM should have this capability)

2. Have you designed the drone specifically for the Tethered Drone System or is it sold separately as a standard drone as well? (If sold as a standard drone then its highly likely the Tethered drone system offered is a mix and match system)

3. Are the electrical converters used designed and developed for the Tethered Drone itself? 

4. Will the after sales service be provided by you or is there some other company involved as well? (a White Labeller will have to use 2/3 companies to provide this service)

5. Can you provide a Tethered Drone System for a higher or lower weight category of drones and payload? (a Reseller or White Labeller will usually not be able to offer different options)

“Buyers need to be aware that going ahead with White Labellers and Standard Drone Providers who have not designed and developed the complete Tethered Drone System could be their biggest oversight when deciding to onboard such high-end technology”.

Aerial IQ’s Tethered Drone System AVIRAL comprises the following main sub-systems which are full designed and developed in-house:

• Multi-Rotor Drone: The drone - including its structure, #avionics, #propulsion system and other components - is specially designed and tested for extremely long endurance missions.

• Ground Tether Station: Fully Autonomous Tether Station on ground which works in tandem with the #drone without any human needed to control it. It is an intelligent system designed to seamlessly work with the drone. It comprises of a state-of-the-art electrical power system, robust automatic winch system as well as advanced sensors which provide feedback to the user and other systems. 

• Tether Cable: A winch system integrated with the #Tether Station for reeling-out and reeling-in the flexible power and fiber data cable. Data transmitted via fiber optic tether has the advantage of being more secure as it is less susceptible to interference than #wireless signal.

• Fail Safe Mechanism:  In the event of power failure or tether cable breaking, the #UAV has an in-built battery to ensure safe landing of the UAV. The failsafe smart electronics board seamlessly switches between main power and battery power.

• Ground Control station (GCS) – Advanced GCS with customized software designed for tethered drone operations for the user.

• Payload – EO/IR camera(external) is a standard payload offered, which is customisable based on user requirement. AVIRAL can carry a suite of different payloads including communication equipment based on user requirement. 

This article should give you some valuable pointers which will enable you to ask the right questions and make informed decisions to acquire the right solution meeting your Tethered Drone requirements.

Kanishk Varma is the CEO and Co-founder of Aerial IQ, an Aerospace company which specialises in Tethered Drone Platforms and other niche UAV solutions. He founded Aerial IQ in Sydney, Australia and later setup R&D and Manufacturing operations in Gurgaon, India. Kanishk is a drone technologist with a passion for developing core capability and providing unmatched value to the end user.