The document discusses the various aspects of Airware's aerial information platform for drones, highlighting its value proposition, competitive landscape, customer segments, and revenue models. It emphasizes the platform's benefits in reducing development costs and enhancing interoperability across different drone manufacturers and software developers. The document also addresses potential regulatory challenges and the need for technological improvements to increase user confidence and secure market positioning.

1. MT4002 Group Project
Arun Kumar  Koen Van Vlijmen  Raghunath Pradeep  Yuli Samantha

2. Introduction to
Drones & Airware1
Value Proposition2
Comparison with
Competitor3
Customers &
Markets4
Value Capture5
Strategic Control6
Issues &
Improvements7

3. Introduction to
Drones & Airware1
Value Proposition2
Comparison with
Competitor3
Customers &
Markets4
Value Capture5
Strategic Control6
Issues &
Improvements7

4. INTRODUCTION
• Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)
– Controlled by ‘pilot’ on the ground OR autonomously via software
• Light weight and mobility permit various applications
Drones  Airware
General Atomics MQ-
1 Predator firing a
missile
Negative
connotation
common
Military, Data collection, Agriculture & wildlife
Recreation, Commercial use

5. INTRODUCTION
2014: 15.22
Million
2020: 1.27
Billion
2035: 5
Billion
Annual Commercial
Drone Market Size
(USD)
In 2035, UAV ops > Manned Aircraft ops
Drones  Airware

6. Drones  Airware
Founded in San Francisco in 2010
Raised over 40 Million USD in investments
Making drones more accessible for commercial use
by providing novel operating system for drones
INTRODUCTION

7. Aerial
Information
Platform (OS)
a) Flight Core
b) Ground Control
Station Software
c) Configuration
Manager
d) Airware Cloud
Main Product

8. INTRODUCTION
Examples of uses
Insurance inspection
Damage assessment
Environmental monitoring
S&R
Land management
Public Safety
Survey
Mapping
Drones  Airware
Range of Industries

9. Introduction to
Drones & Airware1
Value
Proposition2
Comparison with
Competitors3
Customers &
Markets4
Value Capture5
Strategic Control6
Issues &
Improvements7

10. Ecosystem
Drones
Application
Software Components
& Peripherals
Enable an
ECOSYSTEM

11. • Vertical disintegration between drone
manufacturers, OS developers,
application software developers, and
component manufacturers
• Different capabilities are required
along the value chain, hence Airware
focuses on developing the brain
SCOPE OF ACTIVITIES

12. Value Proposition
Aerial
Information
Platform
Drone manufacturer
Lower development and
integration cost for customized
drones, solve interoperability
problem, address
safety/Regulatory issuesApp developer
Single common platform,
integrate aerial data into
app
Component developer
Lower development cost, solve
compatibility issue
Development of
Windows Vista
10000 employees
x
$200000/year/employee
x
5 years
---------------------
$10 Billion

13. Value Proposition
Aerial
Information
Platform
Drone manufacturer
Lower development and
integration cost for customized
drones, solve interoperability
problem, address
safety/Regulatory issuesApp developer
Single common platform,
integrate aerial data into
app
Component developer
Lower development cost, solve
compatibility issue
Enterprises
•Safe, reliable and flexible OS
•Inexpensive system
•Quick tailoring of drones
•Compatible with fleets of
different UAVs
•Integrate aerial data into
existing business systems
•Common interface
Government
Safety assurance
Drone leasing
companies
Wider range and lower cost of
applications

14. Introduction to
Drones & Airware1
Value Proposition2
Comparison with
Competitor3
Customers &
Markets4
Value Capture5
Strategic Control6
Issues &
Improvements7

15. Competitor
Independent, open-source, open-
hardware project aiming at providing
autopilot system
Autopilot Software
NuttX real-time operating system
Autopilot Hardware
PIXHAWK
PX4 Autopilot  Strategy Canvas  User
Comparison

16. High
Low
Security Standardization VarietyPrice
Aerial Information
Platform
PX4 Autopilot
PX4 Autopilot  Strategy Canvas  User
Comparison
Competitor
SpecificityAPI Openness Installed
base

17. Competitor
Aerial Information
Platform
Aircrafts: Delta Drone,
Altavian, Allied Drones
and Drone America
App Software: Pix4D,
2d3 Sensing, Sightline
Components: Mica
Sense, Phase One,
Trillium, GE, Amimon,
Swift, Sagetech, Alta
Devices
PX4 Autopilot
PixHawk: Available from:
3D Robotics Store, Unmanned Tech,
BYOD, UAV store, onDrone UK
App Software: Open source
Peripherals: 3D Robotics
VS
PX4 Autopilot  Strategy Canvas  User
Comparison

18. Introduction to
Drones & Airware1
Value Proposition2
Comparison with
Competitors3
Customers &
Markets4
Value Capture5
Strategic Control6
Issues &
Improvements7

19. Customer Selection
Enterprises and
consumer use
(Final Customers)
App &
Component
developers
Manufacturers

20. Enterprises  Drone Manufacturers 
App & Component Developers
CUSTOMER SELECTION

21. CUSTOMER SELECTION
Dangerous
repair work
Major Needs
Information
gathering
Inspection
Safer work
environment Trucks
Current
solutions
Human
resource
Helicopters
Satellites
Enterprises  Drone Manufacturers 
App & Component Developers

22. Enterprises  Drone Manufacturers 
App & Component Developers
Agriculture
Industry
CUSTOMER SELECTION
• Inspecting the crop field
• Collecting information for crop yield
• Spraying pesticides
Microsoft
• Diverse user-base
• High compatibility
• User friendly interface

23. CUSTOMER SELECTION
• Set Airware‘s integrated platform as an ingredient brand in order to
raise assurance of authenticity and trust.
• Build a powerful drone together.
Intel: 1990s branding
• Valuable feature in computers
• Ingredient brand
Enterprises  Drone Manufacturers 
App & Component Developers

24. Similarities
in
valuation
Specifications
Software
Customer
review
Enterprises  Drone Manufacturers 
App & Component Developers
CUSTOMER SELECTION

25. Enterprises  Drone Manufacturers 
App & Component Developers
CUSTOMER SELECTION
• Provide a platform for third party
developers for drone software and
applications.
Android and iPhone
• 1.5 and 1.4 million Apps
• Avenue for start-ups
• Network effect

26. Enterprises  Drone Manufacturers 
App & Component Developers
CUSTOMER SELECTION
PIXIEPATH
• Connecting individual drones
to the cloud.
• Directing the activities of fleets
of drone.
FLYVER
• Providing a platform to link
with android ecosystem.
• Link to open source app
developers.

27. Introduction to
Drones & Airware1
Value Proposition2
Comparison with
Competitors3
Customers &
Markets4
Value Capture5
Strategic Control6
Issues &
Improvements7

28. VALUE CAPTURE
Subscription
2500 USD/year for Aerial Information Program (AIP)
Includes software, cloud services, app library, support
Revenue model  Indirect Crowdsourcing
Pros for Airware Pros for customers
- Guaranteed revenue for subscription
period
- Provides time to build customer loyalty
 higher avg customer lifetime value
- Customers can generate revenue, to
finance Airware subscription, by leveraging
drones
- More cost-effective for repeated usage
- Forces Airware to continuously improve
to cater to customer needs  better r/s
Cons for Airware Cons for customers
- Customers unsure of usage frequency
may hesitate to subscribe
- Possibility of vendor lock-in

29. Revenue model  Indirect Crowdsourcing
• Aims to accelerate commercial drone innovation by funding
relevant startups
• Enables Airware to specialize in niche areas (value capture)
 Enhanced value proposition through future acquisitions
 Airware compatibility
VALUE CAPTURE

30. Introduction to
Drones & Airware1
Value Proposition2
Comparison with
Competitors3
Customers &
Markets4
Value Capture5
Strategic Control6
Issues &
Improvements7

31. Establishment
as Industry
Standard
Strategic
Control
Legal
Protection

32. Industry standard  Legal protection
• Current U.S. law requires case-by-case FAA authorization to fly a
commercial drone
• Establishment as industry standard with authority approval upon
satisfying regulatory requirements can boost revenue sustainably
• AIP could become default standard for drone OS to attain authorization
STRATEGIC CONTROL

33. Industry standard  Legal protection
Higher user confidence and
security
More extensive compatible 3rd
party product development
Indirect Network Effects
STRATEGIC CONTROL
• Household name in
microprocessors
• Provides guarantee of product
quality/performance
• “Airware Inside”?

34. Industry standard  Legal protectionSTRATEGIC CONTROL
Public disclosure of invention
required
Liability of lawsuits &
possible incurred costs
Restrict competitors from gaining
market share (AIP only integrated drone
OS currently)
Increase product credibility
+
-
Patenting of key components of AIP source code

35. STRATEGIC CONTROL
• Technologies being adopted faster than ever
• Other companies likely to develop similar Drone OS (e.g. AIP) in
near future
• Patent protection advisable

36. Introduction to
Drones & Airware1
Value Proposition2
Comparison with
Competitors3
Customers &
Markets4
Value Capture5
Strategic Control6
Issues &
Improvements7

37. i. Government regulation
ii. Security issues
iii. Public skepticism and fear
iv. Data security
ISSUES

38. IMPROVEMENTS
• Enhancements to value proposition:
Introduction of safety feature into AIP to enable
police to override user-directed flight of drone
 Authorities more likely to approve AIP for enterprise usage
 Reduced chance of drone-related accidents/crimes  Increased confidence in
Airware-powered drones
 Airware provides testing and licensing services for drone operators

39. IMPROVEMENTS
One-time fee
• Charge a fee for
acquiring OS
• Charge for every
update released
and installed
Free OS
• Stop charging
customers for OS
and updates
• Earn revenue from
developing drones
and software
Contract-based
fee
• Integrated service:
customization, data
management, etc.
• Alternative methods of value capture:

40. IMPROVEMENTS
One-time fee
• Charge a fee for
acquiring OS
• Charge for every
update released
and installed
Free OS
• Stop charging
customers for OS
and updates
• Earn revenue from
developing drones
and software
Contract-based
fee
• Integrated service:
customization, data
management, etc.
• Updates released
to subscribers only
to minimize piracy
• Free trial
 Data management likely to be highly profitable given IoT trend
 Airware can provide enterprise solutions rather than just customized drones

41. IMPROVEMENTS
• Alternative method of strategic control:
• Develop applications in addition to OS
• Data management and processing
• Security system
Data ownership for
analytics
(upon customer
approval)
Generate and sell
optimized solutions
Sell data as market
research
Enhanced
capabilities
due to IoT

42. SUMMARY
Drones
Application
Software Components
& Peripherals
ECOSYSTEM
Potentially a winner-takes-all industry
i. Government
regulation
ii. Security issues
iii. Public
skepticism and fear
iv. Data security

43. Q&A