We have seen drones of various kinds. From military drones to underwater drones, technology keeps on changing and innovating in unfathomable ways. The consumer drone sector has also evolved along the 21st century. Back in the early 2000s, consumer drones were hardly making it to the surface but in just two decades the drone industry expanded to a surrealistic height. It is estimated that by 2020 there will be about 10 million drones hitting the skies. Out of all manufacturers of drones, the drone giant DJI (Dà-Jiāng Innovations) has always been at the top of the drone game since its formation.

The Chinese company was founded by Frank Wang in 2006. Wang, who hails from China’s Zhejiang Province went to Hong Kong for college education in 2003. Two years later he was given an amount of US$2,300 by the university for the purpose of researching and developing a drone and that’s how Wang found the world’s leading drone company from his dorm room in 2006. DJI started with the slogan ‘the future of possible’ from a single room office all the way to a 1 Billion USD company.

DJI has its headquarters located in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China with manufacturing facilities throughout the world. It employs 3360 employees globally. DJI is popularly known for its aerial photography and videography drones. They also design and manufacture camera gimbals, flight platforms, cameras, propulsion systems, camera stabilizers, and flight control systems. DJI is the world’s leader in civil and commercial drone industry as it accounts for over 70% of the drone market. Its drone technology has been used throughout the world in music, television and film industries, including K-pop music videos and the sets of Emmy Award-nominated television productions such as The Amazing Race, American Ninja Warrior, Better Call Saul, Game of Thrones, and many more.

In 2017, DJI won a Technology & Engineering Emmy Award for its camera drone technology. DJI drones are excellent in providing directors and cinematographers an affordable and accessible platform to create low-altitude aerial images which match industry standards.

Products by DJI:

Some of the most popular products manufactured by DJI include controllers, Phantom and Mavic series drones.

Controllers :

DJI manufactures flight controllers for its UAVs. Some of the controllers are A2, Naza V2, Wookong-M, and Naza M-Lite. The A2 flight controller has a built-in radio-receiver and comes with IMU, Bluetooth and a GPS Compass Plus Receiver.

Platforms:

The Ronin:

The Ronin is a professional ground-based cinematography and photography platform created by DJI. Ronin uses three individual motors for added stability which helps in high-quality aerial cinematography and photography.

Modules:

Apart from controllers, DJI is also instrumental in the making of add-on modules which can be added to the base models. Add-on modules offer functionality like GPS, Bluetooth, etc. Some of the modules are:

• Lightbridge- a video downlink module.
• PMU- a power management module.
• iOSD MARK II and iOSD Mini- on-screen display module.
• BTU- Bluetooth link module.

UAVs:

These are the products which helped DJI dominate the global drone industry. The drones of DJI are known for their superior performance and environmental sustainability. Many of their drones come with object tracking and highly stable cameras. Some of the DJI drones are:

• The Phantom series: These are the consumer flagship quadcopters, with 4K cameras and unshakable stabilization.
• Mavic series: One of the most portable and foldable designs of DJI which offer professional cinematography cameras and some of the most advanced features ever seen in a drone.
• Spreading Wings series: These drones are hexacopters meant for core industrial usage in aerial photography, 3D mapping, surveillance and also in search and rescue operations.
• Inspire series: These are also professional grade cinematography drones similar to the Phantom series but with much higher-end cameras, an aluminum-magnesium body and carbon fiber arms. The cameras in the Inspire series can record 6K videos up to 30 FPS.

Apart from the featured products, DJI manufactures camcorders and VR Goggles as well. Their products have the best build-quality without compromising on design or specifications. DJI products are fairly easy to use and are an essential gear of most filmmakers and photographers. With progressing technology, DJI never fails to surprise its audiences with astonishing and innovative drone concepts. The latest product being the Mavic 2 Pro has set extremely high standards, thus leading us into the prospect of a drone-filled future.