Samsung is looking to enter the drone market according to sources at CES 2016.
Mid last year, Samsung Electronics’ Wireless Business Division was allocated budget to form a task force to investigate the drone market.
At this stage the division has 15 employees who are currently working on the development of new communication technology spanning motor controller, sensors, and the viability of drones in both the consumer and enterprise markets.
Samsung insiders believe that there is a commercial market for drones that can utilise current Samsung processor technology and software.
“The fact that Samsung Electronics’ Wireless Business Department has formed a drone task force made up of employees with vice-president stature means that it is serious about entering the drone market” a senior Samsung Vice President told ChannelNews.
Full scale production is tipped for later this year.
Samsung believes that it will be able to turn the table on current drone Companies in particular the likes of Solo 3DR and Chinese Company, DJI
as they already have LTE and camera technology to advance drone capability to a new level.
Samsung thinks that it will be able to deliver drones with a competitive edge in in commercial markets because of their LTE (long-term evolution) communication technologies.
US Shopping group Amazon has created a new division called Prime Air which is set to start delivering goods using drones later this year. Samsung is looking to tap into this market especially as they have relationships with retailers who may be looking to copy Amazon.
Giant US retailer Wal-Mart is also preparing for a similar service, while Google is planning to deliver unmanned aerial vehicles in 2017.
According to American defence market research company called Teal Group, it is estimated that global drone markets will be worth more than $10.9 billion (13 trillion KRW) in 2020.
Global Information, estimate that the private drone markets for industrial purposes will grow on average of more than 35% yearly.
Drones received a lot of attention at CES 2016.
According to CEA official’s allocation of space for drone manufacturers increased 200% compared to the prior year.
China’s DJI and Yuneec, America’s Hobbico, and France’s Squadrone System were the major businesses that displayed drones.
Qualcomm also actively introduced its drone development platform called ‘Snapdragon Flight’ that has LTE communication function.
