Chinese-made drones have dominated the market for more than a decade, but growing concerns have some critics questioning U.S. dependence on these machines.
The U.S. domestic drone industry has found itself at a disadvantage when it comes to producing these useful remote-controlled flying machines in America. Chinese drone maker DJI remains the king of the industry, controlling more than
"China benefits from a manufacturing ecosystem that goes back many decades," said Adam Bry, co-founder and CEO of Skydio, a U.S. drone maker."They've been building consumer electronics for many decades. Our cost structure is quite a bit higher than our peers coming from China, which is why we've chosen to compete on the basis of having a product that's got kind of a different value proposition based on AI.
Concerns about data security have prompted a handful of lawmakers in the U.S. to push legislation and policy initiatives both at therestricting the use of drones produced by Chinese companies. DJI drones are currently used by state university researchers, police departments, firefighters and other groups across the U.S. that could be affected by potential bans on Chinese-produced drones.
"Any attempts to ban DJI are really not just damaging DJI, but damaging the entire ecosystem around drones," said Adam Welsh, head of global policy at DJI, in an interview with CNBC."There's a lot at stake here. We really hope that the politicians will look at the facts, actually look at the audit reports that have been done by U.S. government institutions, as well as private companies that show that our products are data secure.
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weeklyThe ever-growing militarization of drones has shown the line between a consumer product and a weapon of war is thin.
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