Periodic Reporting for period 1 - PUMPED (Poor Man's Differential GNSS for Drones)
Reporting period: 2015-10-01 to 2016-03-31
PUMPED aims at being a breakthrough in the navigation technology used in drones and UAVs and to providing precise GNSS positioning at a low cost. Given the forecasted growth of the drone market, Rokubun is convinced that the demand of new drone technology, such as PUMPED, which will be generated will be enough to integrate PUMPED as a baseline technology for new drones. The idea behind PUMPED is that drone users are wiling to have a better geo-postioning accuracy but cannot afford traditional precise solutions due to their high cost. PUMPED intends to address this un-satisfied need. PUMPED is a product for the UAVs market, which provides drones with low-cost precise positioning. PUMPED is powered by Rokubun’s core technology, PARADIGM, which is an innovative technology for low cost precise satellite positioning that will allow mobile devices featuring a low profile GNSS receiver to provide with precise navigation capabilities.
Concerning the present feasibility study, objective is twofold: to assess the concept feasibility and viability both from a technical and an economical point of view. Therefore, the project activities will be devoted, on one hand, to carry out a technical feasibility study, and on the other hand to evaluate the consistency of the envisaged business model for the commercial exploitation of the concept with the elaboration of a Business Plan.
Concerning the present feasibility study, objective is twofold: to assess the concept feasibility and viability both from a technical and an economical point of view. Therefore, the project activities will be devoted, on one hand, to carry out a technical feasibility study, and on the other hand to evaluate the consistency of the envisaged business model for the commercial exploitation of the concept with the elaboration of a Business Plan.
Work performed during the project has been divided into two groups of activities:
Economical viability: This sub-task consists of the development of a business plan for the commercialization of the PUMPED idea. The business plan will include:
• Market study (Segmentation of the market and target market identification)
• Market needs definition based on the contacts with few UAV operating companies,
• Definition of the business model that best suits the market introduction of PUMPED idea (including product description and pricing/commercial policy)
• Financial Plan
• Marketing Plan
o Calendar: T0 + 6 months
Technical feasibility: This sub-task will consist of the development of a technical proof-of-concept for PUMPED in order to verify the technical feasibility of the solution. In addition, a preliminary performance study will be carried out with the proof-of-concept in order to assess the potential improvement in positioning accuracy of a PUMPED product. The work of the proof-of-concept development will be organized in three sequential steps: design, development and validation. This task includes too the writing of a technical note reporting about PUMPED technical feasibility.
o Calendar: T0 + 6 months
Results achieved so far suggest the idea is feasible both at technical and economical levels. The outcome of the project is a technical note with the description of the technical validation of the PUMPED concept core technology as well as Business Plan document to be the road-map to transform PUMPED idea into a profitable business.
Economical viability: This sub-task consists of the development of a business plan for the commercialization of the PUMPED idea. The business plan will include:
• Market study (Segmentation of the market and target market identification)
• Market needs definition based on the contacts with few UAV operating companies,
• Definition of the business model that best suits the market introduction of PUMPED idea (including product description and pricing/commercial policy)
• Financial Plan
• Marketing Plan
o Calendar: T0 + 6 months
Technical feasibility: This sub-task will consist of the development of a technical proof-of-concept for PUMPED in order to verify the technical feasibility of the solution. In addition, a preliminary performance study will be carried out with the proof-of-concept in order to assess the potential improvement in positioning accuracy of a PUMPED product. The work of the proof-of-concept development will be organized in three sequential steps: design, development and validation. This task includes too the writing of a technical note reporting about PUMPED technical feasibility.
o Calendar: T0 + 6 months
Results achieved so far suggest the idea is feasible both at technical and economical levels. The outcome of the project is a technical note with the description of the technical validation of the PUMPED concept core technology as well as Business Plan document to be the road-map to transform PUMPED idea into a profitable business.
The progress achieved so far suggests that PUMPED can have a significant positive impact in society providing a low cost solution to empower drones with precise navigation features, allowing for new demanding advanced applications, that will be affordable for most of the drone operating companies.