Spotlight: ideaForge is a product-focused UAV systems company, developing drone solutions for mapping, security, and surveillance applications.

Email Address: business@ideaforge.co.in  

Company Name: ideaForge Technology Private Limited 

 

1. What was the inspiration behind starting your company? 

The company's origins can be traced back to the time technical co-founders spent at their alma mater, IIT Bombay (IITB), and the fact that while they were students, they had implemented many of their original ideas and participated in various competitions to represent IITB in order to learn and develop technology. IITB had various ways and means through which they were willing to support such endeavors by providing funding to these ideas and to encourage students to participate in competitions to represent the institute. Having had the privilege of the institute investing in their ideas and forming a team that was extremely passionate about hardware technology, the team felt to deliver on the promise with which these institutions were established and were eager to support its students. 

The idea of working on drones started as a project under an innovation cell in IITB. The founding team wanted to build a hovercraft to make it float on the Powai Lake, next to IITB, and while trying to find an innovative idea for building something hovering, they independently developed the quadrotor configuration and built their first prototype in 2004. That obviously inspired the founders to continue working on technology and ensured that as they led into their entrepreneurial journey, they remained attached to the problem of building Unmanned Systems by taking related project work from IITB. 

This work led to the team competing along with IITB in a competition called MAV 2008, where IITB secured the pole position alongside MIT, US, and thus the beginning of ideaForge’s efforts in the core direction of the drone industry. Moreover, when the Taj Hotel was under attack in the same year on 26/11, it was clear that the best and most urgent use of the technology was likely to be with our forces, who could use it to save their own and human lives when confronted with insurgents or terrorists. 

2. Why do you believe your products are essential to your vertical (Police, Fire, EMS, Corrections, Government) community? 

ideaForge is a product focused UAV systems company, developing drone solutions for a variety of applications is generations ahead of other OEMs in terms of safety, reliability, autonomy & performance. The company has made significant achievements in terms of developing composite technology in UAV technology on its own. With over 20 patents, ideaForge is a vertically integrated organization with in-house R&D, design, software, manufacturing, services, and training operations and we are committed to developing deep technology engineering to manufacture world-class drones that help our customers to increase their efficiency and fulfil their business needs effectively. ideaForge has significant achievements in critical technologies in-house, is NDAA SEC848 compliant and has successfully maneuvered through the global shortage in the semiconductor market with its agility by exploring alternative technology. 

Understanding the terrain thoroughly, ideaForge chose to specialize in making man-portable, VTOL UAVs. This ensured that its customers had complete freedom with respect to the terrain in which systems could be deployed. ideaForge drones have an operational range of up to 15 kilometers, a flight time of more than 120 minutes, and a maximum launch altitude of 6000 meters. With up to 25x HD optical zoom, our drones deliver high-impact live insights. ideaForge drones stay above obstacles, use terrain avoidance and gearing for GPS denied navigation for day and night usage, that gives complete freedom and ease of access to operate the drone and achieve the goals. Our drones are a perfect fit for operations like crime control, traffic monitoring, anti-terror operations, perimeter surveillance, forest and wildlife monitoring and conservation, illegal activity prevention, border and coastal security and many more. 

3. What makes your company unique? 

Built on a strong foundation of interdisciplinary engineering, ideaForge is a global leader in UAV technology. The organization, founded in 2007 has a consistent largest market share in the Security & Surveillance segment in India. ideaForge is the first organization to indigenously develop and manufacture Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL) UAVs in India. With over 20 patents to its credit, a vertically integrated organization with in-house R&D, design, software, manufacturing, services, and training operations, ideaForge designs and manufactures world-class UAVs on its own. The company is NDAA SEC848 compliant and has recently bagged the largest global Mini VTOL UAV order.  

The company is continually innovating and experimenting to transform its aerial platforms, to offer greater performance, higher reliability, and autonomy. We believe in enabling customer success and have turned ideaForge’s machinery into creating an evidence-based product market fit. As a result, it has conducted thousands of demos for its customers in varied terrains. Manufacturing at IdeaForge is governed by ISO 9001:2015 quality system and is backed by world class lean manufacturing principles. 5S, Lean, Cell manufacturing, Poka Yoke, Kaizen, and total employee involvement are integral part of the daily work culture at ideaForge operations. To meet our customer’s expectations our training and support team are headed by ex-serviceman which builds militaristic approach towards the entire product cycle from business, manufacturing to support making the products highly agile and customizable without sacrificing reliability. 

Because we believe in 'flying together,' we are developing a robust UAV technology ecosystem that will enable MSME vendors to successfully contribute to the industry growth. We are implementing a MSME-led new product development and rapid prototyping for faster turnaround and agility and also seeking out young technology companies to help improve their capabilities. 

4. Do you support any charitable organizations within public safety/community? Tell us more. 

We are assisting a few local organizations on a small scale, but we are in the process of implementing a CSR policy in our operations to assist the community and fulfill our societal responsibility. 

5. What’s next for your company? Any upcoming new projects or initiatives? 

• Invest in MSME partners to strengthen Local Manufacturing and develop Drone Industry Ecosystem 
• New product development and rapid prototyping for faster turnaround and agility 
• Make use of MSME services to boost productivity, augment skills, and automate processes 
• Promote innovative Drones-as-a-Services (Daas) technology to boost the operations and improve efficiency  
• To create deep integrations with customer workflows for seamless experience for the end-users