DJI, a Chinese drone maker, is expanding its footprint in Thailand to tap into the growing consumer drone market.
"Outside China, Thailand is a top-five market in terms of consumer enthusiasm for drone technology, in addition to Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Australia," said Kevin On, DJI's director for communication.
Thailand is a huge potential market as it has a strong economy with tech-savvy consumers, and a significant portion of people lead a selfie-addicted lifestyle, he said.
In Thailand, DJI is focused on three markets: consumers, agriculture and construction, said Mr On.
In the consumer market, travellers who love to take pictures and share their experiences are a target market.
Thailand also has many small farms that can use drones to spray fertilisers or pesticides faster and more safely than humans.
Construction is a huge potential market because of heavy investment in government infrastructure projects such as railway construction projects, and drones can improve inspections and surveys.
He said Thai developers and entrepreneurs could adopt its software development kit to develop applications for commercial use.
"They can be drone service providers for farms, or apply drone services in wedding photo packages. They can use drones for image-based counting or scanning products in warehouses," said Mr On.
In order to capitalise on the growing opportunity, DJI is offering a "new pilot programme" with 1-2 hours of free test drone flights to educate consumers and ensure they know to use drones safely.
The company recently introduced the Mavic Air ultra foldable portable camera. Powered by machine learning technology, SmartCapture is an ultra-responsive control mode that makes shooting photos and videos effortless. With a maximum range of up to six metres, a user can give hand gesture commands of launch, follow, photograph, record, push, pull and land without the need for a remote controller.
Equipped with 4K video and a 12-megapixel camera, and priced at 30,000 baht, the Mavic Air is suitable for professional consumers.
"Drones are an emerging segment, with more room to grow in both consumer and enterprise markets," he said.
Prices are becoming more affordable, with entry-level drones selling for US$499 (15,747 baht), falling from $1,400 three years ago.
Mr On said drones will evolve to become more portable and smarter, with more powerful processors and machine learning capabilities.
However, he said the move by global e-commerce giants Alibaba and JD.com to use drones for home delivery is not a focus area for DJI as drones have limitations in terms of battery life and aerial regulation.
"The industry may need at least 3-5 years for e-commerce delivery by drones in urban areas," said Mr On.
He also foresees the registration of drones by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), similar to regulation in other countries.
However, he said the regulator needs to ensure the registration process is easy for users.
Synnex Plc is one of DJI's distributors that provides registration for users and after-sales services for one year.
According to the NBTC, some 50,000 drones are expected to be imported into the country.