Chapter 956: It was a big business from the moment it was born
In 2005, Wang Tao was preparing for his graduation project at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
It is rare for undergraduates to decide the direction of their graduation project by themselves, but he decided to study the flight control system of a remote-controlled helicopter and found two classmates to persuade the teacher to agree with their research direction.
The core problem that Wang Tao wants to solve is what he imagined most about helicopters when he was a child - automatic hovering that "can stay in the air and stop wherever you want."
After more than half a year of hard work, their demonstration failed.
Li Zexiang, a professor of robotics at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, has a keen eye and discovered Wang Tao’s leadership skills and understanding of technology.
So, under his recommendation, this stubborn student was admitted to graduate school.
Today, Wang Tao, driven by his unwillingness to admit defeat, is sprinting towards the first qualified sample in his life.
At this time, Xiao Qian found him.
"What are the difficulties?"
Xiao Qian didn't talk nonsense. He came just to take care of Wang Tao's worries.
Wang Tao is also a smart person. He knows Xiao Qian's purpose and is happy before it's too late.
"The main thing is about the automatic hovering device. We have tried many methods so far, but the results are not satisfactory."
Xiao Qian's focus is not here.
"What about the chip and flight control? How far is the remote control radiation range? Is it of practical value?"
Wang Tao and his classmates laughed.
"Mr. Xiao, the chip really has no technical content. An aircraft like ours does not need a high-end chip. However, the balance problem is always difficult to solve."
This is what Xiao Qian is like.
He had never had much contact with unmanned aerial vehicles in his previous life, so he thought this thing was very high-end. But in fact, the technical requirements for the aircraft's chips were very low.
After all, there is not much content that needs to be processed, and the chip is enough.
The main difficulty Wang Tao and the others are currently encountering is hovering in the air and stabilizing the ground.
Xiao Qian couldn't provide much help, but he finally remembered some DJI information.
"I have read some information. At present, many foreign consumers like to install gimbal rings on multi-copter aircraft. If we add this device to our drones, it will definitely be helpful for balance and stability. As for the hovering problem you are facing
, control and other issues, I will introduce you to a few experts later, which should inspire you."
When Xiao Qian mentioned the gimbal, Wang Tao slapped his forehead in frustration.
Damn it, why didn't you think of such a simple solution?
It can be said that Xiao Qian solved the biggest problem they faced with just one sentence.
In fact, the combination of the gimbal and the aircraft was not solved until 2010 by Wang Tao in his previous life.
It was only through feedback they received from DJI’s New Zealand agent that many users like to DIY the purchased gimbals onto their aircraft.
At that time, the world's largest manufacturer of multi-axis flight control systems was the German company MikroKopter.
However, this company's operating model is not humane enough. Users must find their own components and download the code, so the experience is very poor and the reliability of the product is also poor.
Wang Tao keenly grasped this point, combined the gimbal and flight control system, and directly completed the evolution of the product.
Now Xiao Qian told Wang Tao this concept five years in advance, which is equivalent to allowing DJI to take off from its birth.
But Wang Tao is more concerned about another issue.
"What experts does Mr. Xiao want to introduce to us?"
Xiao Qian lowered her voice so that only he could hear it.
"Helicopter expert, military field."
The operating principle of multi-copter aircraft is inseparable from helicopters.
Wang Tao also applied the technology accumulated in helicopter flight control systems to multi-rotor aircraft, which made DJI popular.
In this case, Xiao Qian certainly knows how to help DJI improve quickly.
If Wang Tao did it by himself, he would have to go everywhere to learn and ask for advice. Not to mention the time and effort, how many key technologies could he learn as a student?
Xiao Qian personally came forward and submitted a report on the development prospects of drones, and immediately recruited powerful experts in the helicopter field.
Hearing that Xiao Qian had done so much, Wang Tao was so surprised that his blood boiled and his eyes suddenly became brighter.
At this point, he has completely surrendered to Xiao Qian and is willing to work for Xiao Qian.
"If you want your career to develop as quickly as possible, it's best to involve your teacher. His knowledge and connections can provide you with huge help."
Li Zexiang is an authoritative expert in the field of machinery and automation, and provided huge help to Wang Tao in the initial stage of his business.
It can be said that without Li Zexiang’s funds and connections from the beginning, DJI would have been stillborn.
Now that Xiao Qian is here, DJI has no shortage of start-up capital, but Li Zexiang's technology and connections are still indispensable to Wang Tao.
The next day, Xiao Qian met Li Zexiang.
A scholar who is full of bookishness but also very shrewd.
Li Zexiang is definitely not the kind of nerd who doesn't hear anything outside the window. On the contrary, he is very economically savvy and has a strong sense of professionalism.
Otherwise, there would be no falling out with SUSTech later on.
After listening to Wang Tao's report and Xiao Qian's plan, Li Zexiang understood that a God-given opportunity was right in front of him, and he had no reason not to join.
After discussion, the three decided to set up an aircraft research and development and sales company.
Xiao Qiangang acted decisively and named the company DJI.
"My suggestion is that the R&D center should still be placed in Hong Kong, but the headquarters and production base should be placed in Shenzhen."
This is what DJI did in the previous life, making the most of Hong Kong's talents and Shenzhen's policies, allowing DJI to ride the wind and waves and develop rapidly.
Wang Tao and Li Zexiang breathed a sigh of relief when they heard that Xiao Qian thought the same way.
They were afraid that the financial backer would insist on locating the entire company in China, which would cause a lot of trouble in research and development.
As an international free port, Hong Kong has some convenient conditions that are really unmatched by the mainland. But the preferential conditions and production costs that Shenzhen can provide are unmatched by Hong Kong.
Fortunately, the two cities face each other across the river, so close that the distance can be ignored. The R&D center, headquarters, and production base seem to be separated, but in fact they are still together.
Wang Tao and Li Zexiang considered more about the cost of starting a business, but Xiao Qian was more foresighted.
“How long does your operating system design take?”
Wang Tao and Li Zexiang knew that Xiao Qian urgently needed to use the drone, so they said: "We have been developing the relevant procedures and have completed most of them. There are only some additions left in the follow-up. If the usage standards are met, it will take at most half a year."
But that's not what Xiao Qian cares about.
"How do you plan to solve the chip problem?"
Wang Tao was stunned and thought to himself, is this a problem?
"This kind of aircraft chip technology is not difficult and can be easily purchased on the market."
Xiao Qian laughed and said to herself, "You don't know what the situation will be like in a few years, right?"
With a wave of his hand, he made a decision.
"Since the difficulty is not high, then try to purchase it from China. I will discuss with many companies such as the Institute of Microelectronics, SMIC, and BOE to build a chip packaging production line."
Wang Tao and Li Ze looked at each other in confusion, thinking that it was just an aircraft chip. As for the need to build a special production line?
How did they know that Xiao Qian was preparing for a rainy day?
It is true that the technical content of aircraft chips is not high and seems insignificant. Even if the situation changes in the future, this field does not seem to be affected much.
But Xiao Qian knows better that if the domestic chip industry wants to develop, in addition to technological accumulation and breakthroughs, the market is also a top priority.
After all, users have inertia. Once users are accustomed to using a certain product, if you want them to change, unless there is a huge change, they will have to pay hundreds or thousands of times the price.
Since aircraft chips are not very technical and not sensitive, they can be used to train domestic chip companies.
If such a production line can help major domestic chip companies to form a certain amount of technology accumulation and operating profits, the country will also be able to save a lot of money in R&D investment in the future.
In addition, the production of low-end chips does not require photolithography machines or light sources?
Also needed.
Although it cannot be compared with the most cutting-edge technology in the world, any technology develops from low-end to high-end.
As long as a series of equipment such as photolithography machines and light sources are available, domestic scientific researchers can conduct reference and reverse research.
Later, when it was stuck, the country invested heavily in research and development. No matter how much attention it paid, it was a hasty response, regardless of the cost.
It was still early, and an aircraft chip did not attract attention, so Xiao Qian decided to take this as an opportunity to slowly cultivate relevant domestic talents and technologies.
Maybe it will come in handy in the future.
At the end of 2005, without attracting much attention, an aircraft manufacturing company called DJI was quietly established in Shenzhen.
With Xiao Qian's financial support, this company was very strong from the beginning and no longer the shabby state of its previous life.
Even the office buildings are leased from TX properties.
At the same time, in Hefei, a production line specializing in providing control chips for aircraft has quietly started.
The shareholders are BOE, Microelectronics Institute and DJI.
This production line can produce 150,000 various application chips for aircraft every year. It is very inconspicuous and not many people care about it.
But internally, the line carries a lot of expectations.
