Drone giant DJI launches US$10,000 enterprise model that can avoid power lines at night
DJI , the world's biggest maker of consumer drones , this week launched a US$10,000 enterprise flagship model, the Matrice 400, with extended flight time and an obstacle-sensing system to avoid buildings, mountains and high-voltage power lines at night.
The new enterprise drone offers a 59-minute flight time, a payload capacity of up to 6kg, and a powerful lidar and mmWave radar-based obstacle-sensing system that makes this a versatile drone for applications such as emergency air response, power line inspections, large-scale mapping, engineering and construction, according to the DJI website.
'With the Matrice 400, we continue to push the boundaries of what's possible with nearly an hour of flight time and more intelligent features to ensure the safety of people and property,' said Christina Zhang, senior director of corporate strategy at DJI, in a statement on Tuesday.
Priced at 77,115 yuan (US$10,734), the Matrice 400 also provides up to 53 minutes of hovering time and an IP55 protection rating, which means it can operate in harsh environments and extreme temperatures from minus 20 degrees Celsius (minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit) to 50 degrees Celsius. It can also safely take off from stationary vessels and land on moving ships for offshore operations such as wind turbine inspections and maritime patrol.
DJI's latest product reflects the
Shenzhen -based company's efforts to continue leading the global market for commercial drones, where it had an estimated 70 per cent share in 2024.
The global installed base of commercial drones reached 2.8 million units last year and is projected to grow 9.9 per cent annually to 4.5 million units by 2029, according to Swedish market research firm Berg Insight.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- South China Morning Post
TikTok sister app Douyin to woo merchants with lower deposit fees amid heated competition
TikTok owner ByteDance , whose Douyin short video app has emerged as a popular e-commerce shopping platform in China, will cut the guarantee deposit payable by merchants, in a move designed to keep existing sellers and lure new ones amid fierce competition. Advertisement The deposit, held by the platform on behalf of sellers to cover potential costs such as refunds or penalties, would be capped at 5,000 yuan (US$695), a fraction of the previous maximum of 500,000 yuan. As a result, the deposit payable by existing sellers would be on average 75 per cent lower. The sum would be based on the previous month's gross merchandise volume (GMV), so the lowest level of 500 yuan would apply to online stores that sold less than 50,000 yuan in the previous month, Douyin said in a statement posted on its website on Thursday. New merchants would be able to join the platform without initially having to pay a deposit. Once their paid orders exceed 200, or the total transaction value reaches 10,000 yuan, they must add the deposit. The zero-deposit policy expands a pilot programme that started in February, which covered stores that sold certain types of goods. Douyin said the new policy would apply to all product categories. Douyin has emerged as a popular e-commerce shopping platform in China. Photo: Shutterstock Images The company said it wanted to help merchants 'save money' so they could invest more in 'expanding their business' through marketing and promotional activities to enhance their competitiveness.
South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- South China Morning Post
Numbers have to add up when deciding on closure of Hong Kong schools
Hong Kong's dwindling school-age population and low birth rate continue to put the education sector to the test. This is reflected in a growing number of schools losing government subsidies and having to be merged or axed because of insufficient enrolment. Given the trend is unlikely to turn around any time soon, more institutions may well shut in the coming years. Therefore, authorities should work with stakeholders to ensure a soft landing for the schools and students affected. Critics fear the new class-size regulations may well accelerate the demise of some disadvantaged schools. The Education Bureau has also raised the minimum number of students required to operate a class and scrapped alternative options that may give struggling schools a reprieve. As a result, the pupil threshold for a secondary school operating a Form One class will be raised from 25 to 27 starting in September. The requirement will be further tightened to 29 in 2026-27. Currently, secondary schools need to have at least two Form One classes, or a total of 26 students, to continue operating. With the changes, a school will have to enrol at least 28 students to run two classes to survive the coming academic year, and 30 pupils in 2026-27. Class sizes will also be subject to closer monitoring. Instead of a so-called annual headcount to ascertain numbers for Form One and Form Four every September, the exercise will be conducted in two other junior grades from September 2027-28, when the minimum two-class requirement for Form One will be extended to Form Two and Form Three. With the number of 12-year-olds estimated to drop from 58,800 this year to 49,800 in 2031, the challenges facing schools are unavoidable. The Education Bureau said the new rules aimed to offer quality education and address the needs of parents. But the shrinking population and higher threshold are also bound to make enrolment more difficult for some schools, especially those that are already struggling. Schools already on the brink of closure or merger may be excused for feeling dismayed and perplexed as to why the authorities are seemingly making it more difficult for them to survive. There are also concerns that popular schools will be able to enrol additional students and run extra classes, while even more schools for those not so good academically will be axed or merged at a quicker pace.
South China Morning Post
2 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Huawei chief spells out China hi-tech resilience
The way Ren Zhengfei tells it, Huawei Technologies, the telecoms behemoth he founded, is just one of many hi-tech firms in China. He apparently feels puzzled that the United States keeps targeting his company when its products and computer chips, as well as those of China's other advanced producers, are a generation behind their American counterparts. Advertisement That may be true, but no one should take what he said at face value. His remarks appeared on the front page of People's Daily during two days of intense high-stakes trade talks between Beijing and Washington in London. Two sticking points have been China's restrictions on the exports of rare earths, and America's new curbs on the sale of jet engines and chip-design technologies to China. With Huawei being one of the most important companies behind the nation's drive to become technologically self-sufficient, Ren's interview in Chinese was not only aimed at a domestic audience first and foremost, but also America. We may be behind, he admitted, but were catching up, through perseverance, determination and ingenuity. The most advanced chips may be denied us, but through clever mathematical and computing techniques, Chinese engineers could deliver chips almost as powerful as anybody else. While appearing humble, he was telling the world and the US that Huawei is here to stay, no matter what is thrown at it. There is no better example of Deng Xiaoping's famous dictum: hide your strength, bide your time. In the intensifying trade and tech war between two of the world's largest economies, Huawei has been in the eye of the storm. Last month, the US Department of Commerce tried to declare that the use of Huawei's Ascend chips 'anywhere in the world' would be a violation of American export controls. Beijing responded angrily, and the department climbed down, saying it was an advisory, not an order. Now, subject to final approvals, the two sides may have reached a truce, including apparently relaxing some export curbs on rare earth and chip technologies. Advertisement This will not be the end of their tech war. But China is in a good position with companies like Huawei as one of its trump cards.
