Japan's DroneCloud helps businesses manage drone use

In November 2015, Tokyo-based drone business start-up, Clue, announced the launch of their data management service for drones which they named DroneCloud. As the drone business in Japan is currently a hot topic, the service offers a promising addition to the market as a new platform for managing various data on drone usage for businesses. This includes recording who operates the drone, as well as sharing operational data such as photos, videos, and flight plans. The new service is available for a monthly subscription fee of around $80.

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(The Bridge) – Tokyo-based Clue announced in November the launch of a data management service for drones called DroneCloud. The service will offer a platform to manage drone data, such as tracking who operates which drone, managing projects and team members operating drones, as well as managing and sharing drone flight data.

In the platform, the project management menu allows users to create and manage a project such as assigning drone managers and selecting which drone to use. The data management menu can store photos and videos taken from drones, as well as manage flight plans and other project information. The flight log menu records weather conditions, and where and when drones are being operated. The individual management menu manages model specs of drones used, records total flying hours, and maintenance status. The service is available for a monthly subscription fee of 9,800 yen ($80).

Image Credit: The Bridge

Ryosuke Abe, CEO and founder of Clue explains:

DroneCloud is a cloud service for companies using drones on their business. There are few peripheral services supporting their efficient drone operations such as managing drones and acquired data. We can support their safe and efficient operations by offering a service allowing them to manage various data in an integrated way. Since business use of drones are more advanced in the us and european countries, we will be forced to target the global market. That’s why we are offering the service in english as well as in Japanese.

He has a website called Drone Borg that covers drone startups and use cases from the world. Abe is a serial entrepreneur, having launched fashion sharing business Loving’Box. Abe is leveraging his aerospace engineering background in the drone space.

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Abe says that DroneCloud will be a platform for data processing solutions in the cloud, acquiring flight data by integrating drones from different manufacturers via API (application program interface) or SDK (software development kit).

As the Aviation Law has been amended in Japan, when a company wants to use a drone, they must check flight restricted areas, apply for a flying permit, and register the drone. Clue will help users process these tasks, aiming to support overall drone operations for businesses.

Abe outlined their plans:

In addition to DroneCloud, we are looking at creating a whole ‘operating system’ for business-use drones. It is only airware currently running the business, but there is no outstanding startup in this sector. While the hardware business of drones will be commoditized in the future, I think the operating system software and the cloud will be keys in securing our competitive advantage. We intend to make DroneCloud a must-have cloud service for drone businesses, providing an os control board that will enable seamless data integration with the cloud platform.

Translated by Moto Tsujino via Mother First