The Parrot ANAFI UA

[Jagerbomb52]

The Parrot ANAFI UA – The perfect drone for search and rescue operators?

Only a few days ago, we wrote about this tender from the department of the interior in France and how they are looking to purchase 651 drones. Part of the tender seemed to be specifically written for the Parrot ANAFI drone. Whereas another part of the document seemed written for a drone with a...

dronexl.co

 

[d95gas]

Nice looking ...... but going by current issues, I would hope that it would stay in the air long enough for the user

 

[jaja6009]

Looks pretty cool. Wish there was more information and it would be great if it filters into the consumer line. I always think that Parrot is missing out in the US. DJI is being pushed away by the trade war and if only a competitor could step up. I still think Parrot needs a bigger airframe if it truly wants to enter the enterprise market.

 

[Ana789]

And a third concept of legs, me thinks!
To 2018 Anafi and 2020 one

 

[Ana789]

[...]
DJI is being pushed away by the trade war and if only a competitor could step up. [...]

You really think so?
My guess is that DJI will cooperate to the fullest with the US-gouvernment.
To keep the US- drone market.

 

[Satdiver]

You really think so?
My guess is that DJI will cooperate to the fullest with the US-gouvernment.
To keep the US- drone market.

@Ana789, even if DJI cooperates they’re still getting squeezed out as all US DOD & Federal agencies can no longer use or purchase any Chinese drones or components. Contracted UAS for any US Govt agency cannot be Chinese either....

 

[jaja6009]

You really think so?
My guess is that DJI will cooperate to the fullest with the US-government.
To keep the US- drone market.

I work in Public Safety. We have received guidance from the state that Chinese drones (DJI mentioned specifically) should not be connected to any network until further notice. There is also speculation that any Federal grants in the future will most likely will not be able to be used for Chinese drones in the future if certain pending legislation is passed. When we look for USA made alternatives the competition unfortunately offers solutions that have some or all of the following: far higher costs, inferior workflows, higher complexity, few people using for opinions of how they work.

Fire and Police ALL have Chinese made drones with a combination of DJI and Autel and as we shop around looking for a USA made solution we are unable to find an alternative that checks all of the boxes. I am always hoping that Parrot can step up and deliver more Enterprise focussed drones.

 

[Ana789]

[...]When we look for USA made alternatives the competition unfortunately offers solutions that have some or all of the following: far higher costs, inferior workflows, higher complexity, few people using for opinions of how they work.
[...]

Thats actually the thing I thought reason could overcome

Ok, but still the customer market is "in DJI hands", even in the US, right?

 

[BirdDog]

Thats actually the thing I thought reason could overcome

Ok, but still the customer market is "in DJI hands", even in the US, right?

I would say yes, unless the person has a bigger picture in mind. If that person wants to expand in the future to handle government contracts, Utility inspections (water, electricity gas), they are likely not going to be able to use "Chinese manufactured" equipment. So if someone took the longer view, they would not want to invest in a product that will limit their offerings. Even government contractors are being asked what equipment they are using in the field ("No Chinese made" for the agency extends to their contractors as well). Also, while the Federal regulations don't affect State governments and agencies at 100% level, federal funding does. I don't know of a State that doesn't receive federal funding in various capacities, (medicaid, DOT, law enforcement grants, HUD....the list goes on and on) now the State governments are adopting the Federal stance and IMHO will require all of thier agencies and outside contract vendors to abide by the regulations. I am witnessing that first hand. Don't get me wrong, DJI makes great products and at a price that is hard to match....we own the entire fleet of DJI products, but they will either have to come drastically down in price or move all of their manufacturing to the US and maybe be required to have independent auditors spot check the lines because they would still be Chinese owned. We have entered a realm of national security concern that I can't find has happened at any other time. Even during war times in the past. Never before has the average Joe been able to pose such a high risk to national security inadvertently. This all occurred over the last several years with the US government pretty much asleep at the wheel. Now we are playing catch-up but I think it might even be too late. What makes me believe this isn't going to change is the fact that there is bi-partisian support for this... its not a one-party legislative measure. The Chinese will now exercise their best lobbying efforts to win over some legislators that can oppose the legislation by doing the following: You guys fill in the blanks.....................

 

[Jagerbomb52]

This is really not about security as it is more about a administration trying to bring down a government to a level playing field. It has been proven that DJI drones do not send data back to China a couple of times and just recently in this article. They are doing the same thing to Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei.
Booz Allen Hamilton's latest report finds that DJI systems do not send data to DJI, China or any other unexpected third party.

https://www.precisionhawk.com/hubfs/Retest_DJI%20Cybersecurity%20Risk%20Assessment%20Final%20Report_03.31.2020%20Executive%20Summary%20(1).pdf?fbclid=IwAR3SXysYgVop2Mg3mzAMWA787J8oIAagzFvSDB69tEqTDCEiATEWJvH1o-0

 

[BirdDog]

I'm going to refrain from getting political, but the bi-partisan support is based on briefings by intelligence agencies. I did see the above report but the actual conclusion of the above report does not say data is not being sent back to China. it actually says there are vulnerabilities and it even leaves open the possibility of network intrusion and hijacking of data. They do say it seems to extend to other manufacturers, but should we be less concerned with our data going back to a country like the UK for instance who is an ally of ours as opposed to a communist country? Only you can answer that. Maybe its the case that we should extend the ban on drones outside of US manufacture altogether? I'll let you decide.
More importantly two of the three drones tested for this report were "government models."

If you remember the DOI was going to continue to use their DJI's P4's even going so far as getting "Government models." Then immediately stopped. Is the average consumer buying the government model...no. Why the need for a Government model to begin with. What about the millions of units that were already sold to police and fire depts, other critical infrastructure and sensitive areas that were not "Government Models?" I feel DJI hurt themselves more by creating a "Government model" to begin with instead of maintaining the position of "we don't collect data....period."

Now regarding administration issues, lets focus on economics, What's the side benefit to this? Yes if manufactured within the US, thousands of jobs for American workers? I think another huge issue is that these companies are heavily subsidized and owned by the Chinese government. Does that create an unfair advantage over any type of business (let alone a US company) competing in the world markets..yes it does. Is it fair to allow another country's government to directly bolster and financially support a commercial company to compete in the world market place? There are international trade laws that prohibit that...One European airliner manufacturer was caught doing that....and fined heavily because it amounts to unfair competition and allows for "dumping" on other countries' markets at prices with artificially lowered production costs. So in my first post when I suggested DJI will have to lower its consumer price, to maintain that market share, the American consumer stands to benefit from that action,( if of course you will be buying another drone. ).
Regardless of political views, the safe bet will be to purchase a drone that will not hinder operations in the future if you'd like to expand and take on additional work. Right now, the Chinese restriction is a good reason to think twice about that.

 

[d95gas]

This is really not about security as it is more about a administration trying to bring down a government to a level playing field. It has been proven that DJI drones do not send data back to China a couple of times and just recently in this article. They are doing the same thing to Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei.
Booz Allen Hamilton's latest report finds that DJI systems do not send data to DJI, China or any other unexpected third party.

https://www.precisionhawk.com/hubfs/Retest_DJI%20Cybersecurity%20Risk%20Assessment%20Final%20Report_03.31.2020%20Executive%20Summary%20(1).pdf?fbclid=IwAR3SXysYgVop2Mg3mzAMWA787J8oIAagzFvSDB69tEqTDCEiATEWJvH1o-0

That may be so now with DJI, but I can guarantee that was not the case when the Mavic Pro first came out. We had clear evidence that DJI was actually sending back data to numerous Chinese servers, which is why U.S military put the brakes on.

The evidence was very clear and could not be disputed, so much so that DJI actually agreed to bring out a commercial version of DJI Go for their military customers, which would NOT transmit the data.

Hopefully they learned their lesson from that. I have been off the DJI scene since the Parrot came along, so a little out of touch on that side now, but certainly 2yrs back they were definitely harvesting data.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

That may be so now with DJI, but I can guarantee that was not the case when the Mavic Pro first came out. We had clear evidence that DJI was actually sending back data to numerous Chinese servers, which is why U.S military put the brakes on.

The evidence was very clear and could not be disputed, so much so that DJI actually agreed to bring out a commercial version of DJI Go for their military customers, which would NOT transmit the data.

Hopefully they learned their lesson from that. I have been off the DJI scene since the Parrot came along, so a little out of touch on that side now, but certainly 2yrs back they were definitely harvesting data.

Exactly why I said it was proven a couple of times and not the 50 or so DJI claims. The ones that count are the independent one being performed and not paid by DJI to hide the facts.