SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd. or Shenzhen DJI Sciences and Technologies Ltd. ( zh, c=深圳大疆创新科技有限公司, p=Shēnzhèn Dà Jiāng Chuàngxīn Kējì Yǒuxiàn Gōngsī) in full, more popularly known as its
trade name
A trade name, trading name, or business name, is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is a "fictitious" business name. Registering the fictitious name w ...
DJI, which stands for Da-Jiang Innovations (), is a Chinese
technology company
A technology company (or tech company) is an electronics-based technological company, including, for example, business relating to digital electronics, software, and internet-related services, such as e-commerce services.
Details
According to ''Fo ...
headquartered in
Shenzhen
Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern province ...
,
Guangdong
Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
, backed by several
state-owned entities. DJI manufactures commercial
unmanned aerial vehicle
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controller ...
s (drones) for
aerial photography and
videography. It also designs and manufactures
camera gimbals,
action cameras, camera stabilizers, flight platforms,
propulsion systems and
flight control systems.
DJI accounts for around 76% of the world's consumer drone market as of March 2021. Its camera drone technology is widely used in the
music
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...
,
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
and
film industries. The company's products have also been used by militaries and police forces,
as well as terrorist groups, with the company taking steps to limit access to the latter.
US government institutions have prohibited the internal use of DJI products,
but as of 2020, various agencies at the local and federal level continued to use DJI products.
In December 2021, the
United States Department of the Treasury
The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and t ...
prohibited investment in DJI by U.S. individuals and entities, accusing the company of complicity in aiding the
Uyghur genocide
The Chinese government has committed a series of ongoing human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minorities in Xinjiang that is often characterized as genocide. Since 2014, the Chinese government, under the a ...
.
History
![DJIStoreShenzhen](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/DJIStoreShenzhen.jpg)
The company was founded in 2006 by
Frank Wang
Wang Tao (; born 1980), better known as Frank Wang, is a Chinese aerospace engineer and businessman. He is the founder and CEO of the Shenzhen-based technology company DJI, the world's largest manufacturer of commercial drones. As of Decembe ...
(Wāng Tāo, ). Born in
Hangzhou
Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whi ...
,
Zhejiang
Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...
, he enrolled as a college student in the
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) in 2003. He was part of the HKUST team participating in
ABU Robocon
The ABU Asia-Pacific Robot Contest (ABU Robocon) is an Asian-Oceanian University, college robot competition, founded in 2002 by Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union. In the competition robots compete to complete a task within a set period of time. Th ...
and won third prize.
Wang built the first prototypes of DJI's projects in his dorm room, selling the flight control components to universities and Chinese electric companies. He used the proceeds to move to the industrial hub of
Shenzhen
Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern province ...
and hired a small staff in 2006. The company struggled at first with a high degree of
churn among employees attributed to Wang's abrasive personality and perfectionist expectations. The company sold a modest number of components during this period, relying on financial support from Wang's family friend, Lu Di, who provided US$90,000 and managed the company's finances.
In 2009, DJI's components enabled a team to successfully pilot a drone around the peak of Mt. Everest.
In 2010, Wang hired a high school friend, Swift Xie Jia, to run the company's marketing. DJI began to cater more to drone hobbyists in markets outside of China. In 2011, Wang met Colin Guinn at a trade show, and the two of them founded DJI North America, a subsidiary company focusing on mass market drone sales. In 2013, DJI released the first model of the
Phantom
Phantom may refer to:
* Spirit (animating force), the vital principle or animating force within all living things
** Ghost, the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that can appear to the living
Aircraft
* Boeing Phantom Ray, a stealthy un ...
drone, an entry-level drone which was more user-friendly than other drones on the market at the time.
The Phantom was commercially successful but led to conflict between Guinn and Wang. Midway through the year, Wang made an offer to buy out Guinn, which was refused. By the end of the year, DJI had locked employees of the North American subsidiary out of their email accounts in the process shutting down the subsidiary's operations. Guinn sued DJI, with the case being settled out of court.
In 2015, DJI eclipsed the success of the Phantom with the Phantom 3, whose even greater popularity was in part due to the addition of a built in live-streaming camera.
DJI was now the largest consumer drone company in the world, driving many of its competitors out of the market.
2015 also marked the beginning of DJI's
RoboMaster Robotics Competition (), an annual international collegiate
robot combat tournament held at the
Shenzhen Bay Sports Centre
Shenzhen Bay Sports Center (Simplified Chinese: 深圳湾体育中心), nicknamed Spring Cocoon ( zh, 春茧) for its shape, is a multiuse stadium in Shenzhen, China. It is used mostly for table tennis, swimming and soccer competitions. The ...
.
In November 2015, DJI announced the establishment of a strategic partnership with
Hasselblad. In January 2019, DJI acquired a majority stake in Hasselblad.
In 2017, DJI won a
Technology & Engineering Emmy Award
The Technology and Engineering Emmy Awards, or Technology and Engineering Emmys, are one of two sets of Emmy Awards that are presented for outstanding achievement in engineering development in the television industry. The Technology and Engineer ...
for its camera drone technology, which was used in the filming of various television shows including ''
The Amazing Race
''The Amazing Race'' is an adventure reality game show franchise in which teams of two people race around the world in competition with other teams. The ''Race'' is split into legs, with teams tasked to deduce clues, navigate themselves in forei ...
'', ''
American Ninja Warrior'', ''
Better Call Saul
''Better Call Saul'' is an American crime and legal drama television series created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould. Part of the ''Breaking Bad'' franchise, it is a spin-off of Gilligan's previous series, '' Breaking Bad'', and serves as a ...
'' and ''
Game of Thrones
''Game of Thrones'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the first ...
''. That same year, Wang became Asia's youngest tech billionaire,
and world's first drone billionaire.
Also in 2017, signed a strategic cooperation agreement to provide surveillance drones for use by the Chinese police in
Xinjiang
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...
.
On 5 June 2018,
police body cam
The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and ...
and
Taser
A taser is an electroshock weapon used to incapacitate people, allowing them to be approached and handled in an unresisting and thus safe manner. It is sold by Axon, formerly TASER International. It fires two small barbed darts intended to ...
maker
Axon announced a partnership with DJI to sell surveillance drones to U.S. police departments. As of 2020, DJI products are also widely used by U.S. police and fire departments.
On 21 January 2019, DJI announced that an internal probe had uncovered "extensive" fraud by some employees who "inflated the costs of parts and materials for certain products for personal financial gain." DJI estimated the cost of the fraud at "up to CN¥1 billion" (US$147 million), but maintained that the company "did not incur a full year loss in 2018."
In January 2020, the
United States Department of the Interior
The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the mana ...
announced that it would be grounding around 800 drones which it had been using for wildlife conservation and infrastructure monitoring purposes. By March 2020, DJI retained 77% of the US market share for consumer drones with no other company holding more than 4%.
In 2020, DJI drones are being used by many countries around the world to combat the
Coronavirus
Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, they cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the com ...
. In China, DJI drones are used by the police force to remind people to wear masks. In other countries, such as Morocco and Saudi Arabia, their drones are used to disinfect urban areas and monitor human temperatures in order to contain the spread of Coronavirus.
Corporate structure
In 2018, DJI raised roughly $1 billion in funds in preparation for an envisioned
IPO
An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...
at the
Hong Kong Stock Exchange
The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (SEHK, also known as Hong Kong Stock Exchange) is a stock exchange based in Hong Kong. As of the end of 2020, it has 2,538 listed companies with a combined market capitalization of HK$47 trillion. It is repor ...
. As of July 2020, these rumors persisted with no indication that an IPO is forthcoming. The company had previously raised $500 million in a 2015 funding round from investors including state-owned
New China Life Insurance
New China Life Insurance Co., Ltd. also known as New China Insurance (NCI) or Xinhua Baoxian Jituan () is a Chinese life insurance company based in Beijing. The Chinese government owns more than half of the shares of the company via sovereign fu ...
,
GIC, and New Horizon Capital, the latter being co-founded by the son of China's former premier minister
Wen Jiabao
Wen Jiabao (born 15 September 1942) is a retired Chinese politician who served as the Premier of the State Council from 2003 to 2013. In his capacity as head of government, Wen was regarded as the leading figure behind China's economic policy ...
.
DJI has also received investment from
Shanghai Venture Capital Co.
Shanghai Venture Capital Company ("SHVC") is one of China's largest State-owned enterprise, state-owned venture capital/private equity firm. It is owned by the Shanghai municipal government.
Established in 1999, Shanghai Venture Capital Co. has b ...
, SDIC Unity Capital, owned by the
State Development & Investment Corporation, and the China Chengtong Holdings Group, owned by the
State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council.
DJI counts roughly 14,000 employees and has 17 offices internationally. The company is known for having a very difficult hiring process, as well as an extremely competitive internal culture, where teams are often pitted against each other to design better products.
DJI's factories in Shenzhen include highly sophisticated automated assembly lines. Many of the components for these assembly lines are built in-house.
Products
Flight systems
Controllers
DJI develops flight controllers intended for multi-rotor stabilization control of various platforms or heavy payloads in aerial photography. Their most prominent controller, the A2 controller, includes orientation, landing, and home return features. Some of their products include GPS-compass receivers,
LED
A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor Electronics, device that Light#Light sources, emits light when Electric current, current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy i ...
indicators and
Bluetooth
Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is limi ...
connectivity.
Modules
Camera drones
Flame Wheel
The Flame Wheel (风火轮) series are
multirotor platforms for aerial photography. As of 2016, there is the
hexacopter
A multirotor or multicopter is a rotorcraft with more than two lift (force), lift-generating helicopter rotor, rotors. An advantage of multirotor aircraft is the simpler rotor mechanics required for flight control. Unlike single- and double-roto ...
F550, and
quadcopters F330 and F450. The most recent is the ARF KIT.
Phantom
The Phantom (精灵) series has evolved to integrated flight programming with a camera,
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wave ...
or Lightbridge connectivity, and the pilot's
mobile device
A mobile device (or handheld computer) is a computer small enough to hold and operate in the hand. Mobile devices typically have a flat LCD or OLED screen, a touchscreen interface, and digital or physical buttons. They may also have a physical ...
. Phantoms are made for aerial cinematography and photography applications, but are also used in recreational use.
There have now been four generations of the product line, the most recent one is the Phantom 4 RTK, announced on October 15, 2018.
Mavic & Mini
![DJI Mavic 2 Pro mit Hasselblad Kamera](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/DJI_Mavic_2_Pro_mit_Hasselblad_Kamera.jpg)
The Mavic (御) series currently includes Mavic Pro, Mavic Pro Platinum, Mavic Air, Mavic Air 2, DJI Air 2S, Mavic 2 Pro, Mavic 2 Zoom, Mavic 2 Enterprise, Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced, Mavic 3, Mavic 3 Cine, Mavic Mini, DJI Mini SE, and DJI Mini 2 and Dji Mini 3 Pro. The release of the Mavic Air 2 was not without controversy, however, as DJI announced that a key safety feature, AirSense (
ADS-B), would not be available on models outside the USA. Shortages on components and complexities of production owing to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis at the time were blamed.
Starting with the Mini 2, the Mavic name was dropped from most of the new models such as the Air 2S and the Mini SE.
DJI released the Air 2S on April 15, 2021.
The DJI Mavic 3 and the Mavic 3 Cine was released on November 4, 2021, at 10PM EDT. The Mavic 3 superseded the Mavic 2 Pro and the Mavic 2 Zoom and was priced for prosumers and professionals more than hobbyists. The Mavic 3 Enterprise and Mavic 3 Thermal were released on September 27, 2022, and superseded Phantom 4 RTK and Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced drones in surveying, inspection, safety, and rescue tasks.
Inspire
![2019-03-23 - DJI Inspire 2 -3986](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/2019-03-23_-_DJI_Inspire_2_-3986.jpg)
The Inspire series is a professional series of camera quadcopters similar to the Phantom line, but with an aluminum-magnesium body with carbon fibre arms, as well as detachable props on the Inspire 2. It was presented in 2017.
Inspire specifications:
Spark
![DJI Spark in flight (front)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/DJI_Spark_in_flight_%28front%29.jpg)
Released in May 2017, the Spark (晓) features a 12-megapixel camera stabilized mechanically by a 2-axis gimbal. The Spark also carries an advanced infrared 3D camera that helps the drone to detect obstacles in front of it, as well as facilitating hand-gesture control. In addition to a smartphone app with virtual controller, a physical controller can also be bought.
There have been multiple complaints that the drone switches off and fall while flying. DJI responded to this by releasing a mandatory battery firmware update in August 2017.
FPV
On March 2, 2021, DJI announced the launch of the DJI FPV, an entirely new type of hybrid drone combining the
first-person view (FPV) and high-speed performance of
racing drones, the cinematic camera and reliability of traditional consumer drones, and an optional innovative
motion controller that allows pilots to control the drone with just single-handed movements. Based on DJI's earlier
Digital FPV system, the drone features high-performance motors for a maximum
air speed
In aviation, airspeed is the speed of an aircraft relative to the air. Among the common conventions for qualifying airspeed are:
* Indicated airspeed ("IAS"), what is read on an airspeed gauge connected to a Pitot-static system;
* Calibrated a ...
of and a
0-100 km acceleration of just 2 seconds under manual mode, an intuitive
user interface
In the industrial design field of human–computer interaction, a user interface (UI) is the space where interactions between humans and machines occur. The goal of this interaction is to allow effective operation and control of the machine f ...
and the latest safety features for greater
flight control
A conventional fixed-wing aircraft flight control system consists of flight control surfaces, the respective cockpit controls, connecting linkages, and the necessary operating mechanisms to control an aircraft's direction in flight. Aircraft e ...
. The new FPV system lets pilots see from the drone's perspective in low-
latency high-definition video
High-definition video (HD video) is video of higher resolution and quality than standard-definition. While there is no standardized meaning for ''high-definition'', generally any video image with considerably more than 480 vertical scan lines (No ...
thanks to "O3", the third iteration of DJI's proprietary OcuSync technology. It allows pilots to capture ultra-smooth and stable
4K video
4K resolution refers to a horizontal display resolution of approximately 4,000 pixels. Digital television and digital cinematography commonly use several different 4K resolutions. In television and consumer media, 38402160 (4K UHD) is the dominan ...
at 60
fps
FPS may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* "F.P.S." (''Law & Order: Criminal Intent''), an episode of the TV show ''Law & Order: Criminal Intent''
* '' fps magazine'', a defunct magazine about animation
* ''The Fabulous Picture Show'', a televi ...
with the stabilization of RockSteady
electronic image stabilization
Image stabilization (IS) is a family of techniques that reduce blurring associated with the motion of a camera or other imaging device during exposure.
Generally, it compensates for pan and tilt (angular movement, equivalent to yaw and pit ...
.
Industrial UAV
Spreading Wings
![Hexacopter Multicopter DJI-S800 on-air credit Alexander Glinz](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Hexacopter_Multicopter_DJI-S800_on-air_credit_Alexander_Glinz.jpg)
The Spreading Wings (筋斗云) series are mainly industrial UAVs for professional aerial photography, high definition 3D mapping, ultra-light search and rescue, and surveillance etc. based on camera gear on board. In 2013, two models were released: S800 regular and EVO.
Matrice
The Matrice (经纬) series is designed for industrial applications, including surveying, inspection, search and rescue and firefighting.
The Matrice 100 is a fully programmable and customizable drone, launched on July 6, 2015. It has expansion bay and communication ports, which allows developers to add additional components for different purposes.
Agras
Agras is DJI's agricultural drone series with a takeoff weight of 25 - 80kg. Drones are used for spraying crops. Agras models have environmental protection and have
IP67
The IP code or ingress protection code indicates how well a device is protected against water and dust. It defined by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) under the international standard IEC 60529 which classifies and pro ...
rating for core parts and
IP54
The IP code or ingress protection code indicates how well a device is protected against water and dust. It defined by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) under the international standard IEC 60529 which classifies and pro ...
rating for batteries.
Stabilized cameras
Ronin
![Habib Wahid with DJI Ronin-S](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Habib_Wahid_with_DJI_Ronin-S.jpg)
The Ronin (如影) is a standalone ground-based
camera platform developed for cinematography and aerial filmmaking in professional environments. It is built for professional videography and photography and targets the film industry. By using three individual motors, Ronin stabilizes when moving vigorously. Later models of the Ronin include the Ronin-M, Ronin 2, Ronin-S, Ronin-SC, and the Ronin 4D.
Osmo
![DJI OSMO on side](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/DJI_OSMO_on_side.jpg)
The Osmo (灵眸) is a
camcorder
A camcorder is a self-contained portable electronic device with video and recording as its primary function. It is typically equipped with an articulating screen mounted on the left side, a belt to facilitate holding on the right side, hot-swa ...
developed by DJI. The camera uses a
smartphone
A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...
to view camera footage and can record 4K and take either 12–16 MP stills. Later models include the Osmo Pocket and the Osmo Action.
The Osmo mobile relies on the user's smartphone as the camera. Most smartphones are accepted into the gimbal with a width range of 2.31–3.34 inch (58.6-84.8 mm). The original Osmo Mobile has reached its end-of-life and has been replaced with a second generation, called Mobile Osmo 2. Osmo Mobile 3 was announced in August 2019, and is designed for the social media crowd.
Goggles
The DJI FPV series are
head-mounted displays designed for
FPV drone flying. There are two different product lines in the FPV series, the DJI Goggles (DJI) and the Digital FPV System (FPV). The DJI Goggles are designed to interface with DJI-branded drones, using dual
LC display
A liquid-crystal display (LCD) is a flat-panel display or other electronically modulated optical device that uses the light-modulating properties of liquid crystals combined with polarizers. Liquid crystals do not emit light directly but i ...
screens, wireless connectivity and direct photo and video capture control. In November 2017, DJI also released DJI Goggles RE ("Racing Edition"), which featured compatibility with
racing
In sport, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific goa ...
quadcopters. The DJI Digital FPV System is a standalone system designed for non-DJI brand or
custom-built drones.
Educational robots
RoboMaster S1
![DJI RoboMaster S1 - 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/DJI_RoboMaster_S1_-_2.jpg)
On 11 June 2019, DJI unveiled the RoboMaster S1 ( S1), its first consumer
ground drone, named after DJI's annual
RoboMaster
RoboMaster ( zh, s=, t=, p=Jījiǎ Dàshī, c=机甲大师) is an annual intercollegiate robot competition held in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China, founded and hosted by the drone tech giant DJI. First started in 2015, it is the brainchild of DJI's ...
robot combat competition, of which it is now an unofficial
mascot
A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...
. The S1 is a
tank
A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engin ...
-like
rover
Rover may refer to:
People
* Constance Rover (1910–2005), English historian
* Jolanda de Rover (born 1963), Dutch swimmer
* Rover Thomas (c. 1920–1998), Indigenous Australian artist
Places
* Rover, Arkansas, US
* Rover, Missouri, US
* ...
remotely controlled in
first-person view via
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wave ...
and an
app on
Microsoft Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
,
Apple iOS
iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...
or
Google Android
Android is a mobile operating system based on a modified version of the Linux kernel and other open-source software, designed primarily for touchscreen mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Android is developed by a consortium of de ...
mobile device
A mobile device (or handheld computer) is a computer small enough to hold and operate in the hand. Mobile devices typically have a flat LCD or OLED screen, a touchscreen interface, and digital or physical buttons. They may also have a physical ...
s. Designed to be an "advanced educational robot", the user has to assemble the S1 out of the box from loose parts and learn to program its
AI functionality. Both
Scratch and
Python
Python may refer to:
Snakes
* Pythonidae, a family of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia
** ''Python'' (genus), a genus of Pythonidae found in Africa and Asia
* Python (mythology), a mythical serpent
Computing
* Python (pro ...
are
programming language
A programming language is a system of notation for writing computer programs. Most programming languages are text-based formal languages, but they may also be graphical. They are a kind of computer language.
The description of a programming ...
s employed by DJI along with app learning modules to teach the
end user
In product development, an end user (sometimes end-user) is a person who ultimately uses or is intended to ultimately use a product. The end user stands in contrast to users who support or maintain the product, such as sysops, system administrat ...
how to
code
In communications and information processing, code is a system of rules to convert information—such as a letter, word, sound, image, or gesture—into another form, sometimes shortened or secret, for communication through a communication ...
.
RoboMaster EP
The DJI RoboMaster EP ( EP) was officially released on March 9, 2020, although it was first teased in a
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
RoboMaster S1 commercial on November 25, 2019.
The EP supports more than 20 third-party sensors and open-source hardware such as
Micro Bit
The Micro Bit (also referred to as BBC Micro Bit, stylized as micro:bit) is an open source hardware ARM-based embedded system designed by the BBC for use in computer education in the United Kingdom. It was first announced on the launch of BBC's ...
,
Arduino and
Raspberry Pi.
Controversies
Privacy and security concerns in the U.S.
The
United States Department of the Interior
The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the mana ...
's Office of Aviation Services said in their analysis in July 2017 that DJI's software they did not meet requirement "''to decline and lock out any device information sharing including telemetry through aircraft, software or applications preventing any automated uploads or downloads."'' As response DJI published the offline mode that allows its drones to fly without transferring data over the internet.
''
The Register
''The Register'' is a British technology news website co-founded in 1994 by Mike Magee, John Lettice and Ross Alderson. The online newspaper's masthead sublogo is "''Biting the hand that feeds IT''." Their primary focus is information tec ...
'' reported in August 2017 that the DJI's Go app contained JSPatch framework which allowed DJI to hot-patch the app without triggering a review by Apple, or without first seeking user consent. This was against Apple's rules and 45,000 apps were blocked from the AppStore because of "hot patching concerns". In August the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
also changed its internal guidance on disallowing the use of DJI products, especially in battlefield scenarios. Guidance was based on an Army Research Laboratory report from May 2017 which found cyber-vulnerabilities.
The US Army's decision launched public research where it was speculated that the decision was because the data link between the controller and the drone was vulnerable.
As a result, DJI released a bug bounty program for finding flaws. Security researcher Kevin Finisterre reported a security breach of private customer data at DJI to the bug bounty program. In the breach, developers had pushed the private keys for SSL, Cloud storage and firmware AES keys to a GitHub repository. As per Finisterre's description in Ars Technica, he was ''able to access flight log data and images uploaded by DJI customers, including photos of government IDs, drivers licenses, and passports. Some of the data included flight logs from accounts associated with government and military domains.'' However, the after the long discussion with DJI's legal team, he decided to turn down the $30,000 bounty and publish the information.
In 2018, in response to the allegations of mishandling user data, DJI commissioned Kivu Consulting to make larger analysis. Kivu found that only DJI GO 4 app was connected to the Internet, it worked without Internet connection and only uploaded data after user confirmation. It also used servers which were located in the US except the crash reporting app called Bugly which uploaded crash reports to the server located in China.
In January 2020, the United States Department of the Interior announced that it would be grounding around 800 DJI drones over security concerns, which it had been using for wildlife conservation and infrastructure monitoring purposes.
In a May 2020 report analyzing the data use of DJI's
Mimo app, which is used to control the
Osmo
Osmo is a Finnish male given name. It appears in Kalevala
The ''Kalevala'' ( fi, Kalevala, ) is a 19th-century work of epic poetry compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Karelian and Finnish oral folklore and mythology, telling an epic story about ...
gimbles from a smartphone, security research company River Loop Security made several discoveries "of concern" for users and policy-makers.
According to the researchers, the social media app sends a variety of data, including sensitive personal information, through insecure means to servers located in China without user consent, raising suspicions that personal user data could be freely accessible to the Chinese authorities.
User information was also sent to third-party servers, "where the Terms of Use Agreement supports cooperation with the Chinese Government."
In July 2020, the reports by Synacktiv and GRIMM on the security of the
DJI GO 4 mobile app found that it collected user information (IMSI, IMEI, the serial number of the SIM card) from phones and was able to force the installation of updates. The app also prompted the user to grant permission to "Install Unknown Apps" for installing update from DJI site.
The app also integrated to social media site Weibo's SDK similar way and allowed to install Weibo related third-party apps also. Synacktiv wrote "Given the wide permissions required by DJI GO 4 — contacts, microphone, camera, location, storage, change network connectivity — the DJI or Weibo Chinese servers have almost full control over the user's phone."
DJI responded that "system detects if a DJI app is not the official version – for example, if it has been modified to remove critical flight safety features like geofencing or altitude restrictions – we notify the user and require them to download the most recent official version of the app from our website. In future versions, users will also be able to download the official version from Google Play if it is available in their country"
In the statement release DJI said that to use Weibo SDK user's need proactively turn it on.
DJI also responded that “DJI GO 4 is not able to restart itself without input from the user, and we are investigating why these researchers claim (that it will stay running after it is closed) ”. In August 2020, Synacktiv alleged that DJI's Pilot app shares many of the same issues present in DJI GO 4, which DJI denied.
A 2020 analysis by
Booz Allen Hamilton reported that they did not find evidence of unauthorized data transfers to China. The apps used the backend servers located in US. The only exception was the crash analytics which connected to Chinese servers.
In November 2020, senators
Chris Coons,
Rick Scott
Richard Lynn Scott ( Myers, born December 1, 1952) is an American politician serving as the junior United States senator from Florida since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he was the 45th governor of Florida from 2011 to 2019.
Scott ...
, and others criticized a decision by the
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
to purchase DJI drones on security grounds.
U.S. sanctions
In December 2020, the
United States Department of Commerce
The United States Department of Commerce is an executive department of the U.S. federal government concerned with creating the conditions for economic growth and opportunity. Among its tasks are gathering economic and demographic data for bu ...
added DJI to the
Bureau of Industry and Security's
Entity List
The Entity List is a trade restriction list published by the United States Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), consisting of certain foreign persons, entities, or governments. Entities on the Entity List are subject to U ...
. In January 2021, then President Trump signed an executive order mandating the removal of Chinese-made drones from U.S. government fleets. In December 2021, the
United States Department of the Treasury
The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and t ...
prohibited investment in DJI by U.S. individuals and entities, accusing the company of assisting the
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...
and complicity in aiding the
Uyghur genocide
The Chinese government has committed a series of ongoing human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minorities in Xinjiang that is often characterized as genocide. Since 2014, the Chinese government, under the a ...
.
In October 2022, the
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secu ...
added DJI to a list of "Chinese military companies" operating in the U.S.
Pentagon analysis
In May 2021,
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secu ...
issued an analysis on DJI products. The unclassified portion of the report concluded that two types of drone in the DJI "Government Edition" line-up shows "no malicious code or intent and are recommended for use by government entities and forces working with US services."
This is according to a summary obtained by
''The Hill'' though the Defense Department did not respond to an inquiry asking for elaboration.
Incidents involving DJI products
In January 2015, a Phantom 3 drone crashed into the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
's south lawn, in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, US. DJI later set up a no-fly Geo-system according to
prohibited airspace, and forced all drones to update the firmware. The system introduced will prevent flights from getting closer to, or take off in restricted zones, based on GPS location.
A DJI Phantom 2 drone carrying radioactive material was landed on the
Prime Minister's Official Residence
The Prime Minister's Official Residence is the official workplace and residence of the Prime Minister of Japan. It is commonly referred to as , , or simply .
Located at 2-3-1 Nagata-chō, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100–8968, it is diagonally adjacen ...
in Tokyo, Japan—the
2015 Tokyo drone incident
In the , a Phantom 2 drone carrying traces of radiation was found on the roof of the Japanese Prime Minister's Official Residence. It had been controlled by Yasuo Yamamoto, an anti-nuclear protester from Fukui Prefecture. Yamamoto flew the drone ...
. Subsequently, the
National Diet
The is the national legislature of Japan. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives (Japan), House of Representatives (, ''Shūgiin''), and an upper house, the House of Councillors (Japan), House of Councillors (, ...
passed a law restricting drone flights near government buildings and nuclear sites.
In 2016,
ISIS
Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingd ...
used DJI drones as exploding devices in Iraq. DJI later created a broad no-fly zone over nearly all of Iraq and Syria.
That year, a DJI drone was nearly involved in a midair collision with a Chinese fighter jet. The Chinese government subsequently insisted that DJI develop an air traffic registry to track its drones within China.
On 30 March 2018,
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...
used DJI's Matrice 600 drone to drop tear gas from above.
On 4 August 2018,
two Matrice 600 drones detonated explosives near
Avenida Bolívar, Caracas in an apparent attempt to assassinate
Venezuelan president
The president of Venezuela ( es, Presidente de Venezuela), officially known as the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, Presidente de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is the head of state and head of government in Ven ...
Nicolás Maduro
Nicolás Maduro Moros (; born 23 November 1962) is a Venezuelan politician and president of Venezuela since 2013, with his presidency under dispute since 2019.
Beginning his working life as a bus driver, Maduro rose to become a trade unio ...
.
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
DJI drones are indiscriminately used by both Ukraine and Russia during the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
. It served as the preferred tactical surveillance, strike, and propaganda by Ukraine's armed forces.
Ukraine has used DJI drones extensively after being invaded, while battlefield footage suggests their usage by Russia as well. After German retailer
Media Markt
Media Markt is a German multinational chain of stores selling consumer electronics with over 1000 stores in Europe. With chain of stores Saturn it constitutes Media-Saturn Holding, owned by the retail company Ceconomy, which was demerged from M ...
stopped selling DJI drones, DJI said that its products were for civilian use and inappropriate for the military. Following criticism of the company's operation in Russia, DJI suspended its business in both Russia and Ukraine to prevent its products from being used in combat.
Ukrainian troops have used DJI drones to conduct reconnaissance and direct strikes on Russian forces. Ukrainian troops have also used modified DJI drones to drop improvised explosives on opposing forces. Fitted with high-definition cameras, Ukrainian also used the DJI drones to produce effective propaganda materials, including live war footage of Russian forces and heavy equipment being destroyed.
A Ukrainian soldier told
CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...
that Russian forces were able to use the drones' AeroScope function to track Ukrainian operators. Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister
Mykhailo Fedorov said that without no-fly zones imposed by DJI, its drones were being used by Russia against Ukrainian forces and that Russian forces were able to track Ukrainian drones using the AeroScope detection platform. DJI replied to him on Twitter saying that its drones are designed for civilians and that requirements such as AeroScope and Remote ID make them inappropriate for military use. DJI can set up geofencing in Ukraine if its government were to make a formal request, but doing so could affect all parties' drones unless individual units are prevented from downloading the geofencing update. ''
The Verge
''The Verge'' is an American technology news website operated by Vox Media, publishing news, feature stories, guidebooks, product reviews, consumer electronics news, and podcasts.
The website launched on November 1, 2011, and uses Vox Media' ...
'' did not find any confirmed reports on Russian AeroScope usage and interviewed a DJI spokesperson to clarify the issue.
See also
*
List of unmanned aerial vehicles of China
*
List of Chinese companies
Since the introduction of economic reforms in 1978, China has become one of the world's fastest-growing major economies. , it was the world's second-largest economy by nominal GDP and largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). China was also th ...
References
External links
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{{Authority control
Multinational companies headquartered in China
Manufacturing companies based in Shenzhen
Privately held companies of China
Chinese brands
Action cameras
Camcorders
Video surveillance companies
Unmanned aerial vehicle manufacturers
Unmanned helicopters of China
Multirotor helicopters
Chinese companies established in 2006
Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 2006
Articles containing video clips
Companies based in Shenzhen