Chinese-made drones are on the rise in Latin American markets, as the large U.S. drone market continues to focus mainly on buyers within its own borders and those from NATO-affiliated countries.
According to defence news site Quwa, Latin America is an emerging market for drone companies that could see widespread competition between manufacturers. “The likes of Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Argentina, while relatively cost-sensitive, are still capable of executing large purchases of big-ticket items,” it wrote.
China recently announced the release of a new Wing Loon drone, which will be used for reconnaissance strikes, and should have an impact on the Latin America market, among other regions of the world as it expects to secure 1.9 billion euros in sales globally, the Quwa article stated.
Other Chinese drone makers, like Airlango, are finding their niche in the marketplace of drones for personal use. Airlango executives envision a world where people can interact with drones in a way beyond just taking photos or videos, as the company has already produced drones that recognize and respond to their owners as if they were their pets.
“In the future, we believe drones will be smarter and require less human expertise in operations, while users can spend more time enjoying the fun and convenience of an increasingly intelligent companion that knows how to best serve owners’ needs,” said Yinian Mao, CEO of Chinese drone manufacturer Airlango, said in a press release earlier this year.
The potential goldmine of a marketplace waiting to be tapped into is maybe no better exemplified by anywhere else in Latin America than in Peru, where seemingly every day there is news coming out of drones being utilized as in a variety of ways for solutions for the country’s problems.
When the Nasca Lines, UNESCO World Heritage Site, were damaged by a truck that drove over the 2,000-year-old geoglyphs, representatives from Peru’s Culture Ministry responded by saying they will use drones to secure and surveil the area from now on.
Drones can also help deter the spread of the mosquito-borne Zika virus by controlling large groups of mosquitos and, potentially, their reproduction patterns. Drone maker and WeRobotics co-founder Adam Klaptocz told Reuters that it would only take two or three drones to control mosquitoes on a city scale by trapping them and later dispersing them in strategic locations.
“It’s beneficial to a larger population if you have this (drone) technology,” he said.
This article was originally published in Peru Reports.