VFR
Transforming Social Infrastructure with Flying Robotics

Among the latest marvels of technology, drones take centre stage as one of the most promising technologies set to transform various industries. From aerial photography to food and medicine delivery to search, surveillance and scrutiny of vast swathes of area, drones can perform them all. With each passing day, many tech advancements are being incorporated into drones that make them increasingly sophisticated while enhancing their flight and scanning efficiencies, making them an indispensable asset across industries. While most drone manufacturers worldwide have the tech expertise to build thesestate-of-the-art drones, they mostly lack mass manufacturing capabilities owing to high costs and supply chain issues associated with sourcing materials for and building and marketing drones. This is true even for manufacturers in Japan, despite being a country renowned for its technology and manufacturing expertise.

This is where VAIO Flying Robotics (VFR) steps in. Set up by parent company VAIO, Sony’s PC brand, VFR is armed to transform the Japanese drone industry on similar lines to the PC industry. Deeply invested in R&D, VFR is cementing Japan’s position at the forefront of manufacturing with its next-generation drones. “We are a company building highly secure and high-performance drones for Japan and the rest of the world,” says Koichiro Yuasa, president of VFR. The company is building sophisticated, high-performance drones cost-effectively, making them suited to mass production to standardize drone usage in agricultural services, aerial delivery, and remote inspection. VFR, equipped with cutting-edge wireless network and hardware computing technology, also manufactures core parts like wireless modules and flight controller modules used in drones.

Expanding the Scope and Reach of Drones

Having access to the PC value chain of suppliers and human resources spread across Japan and China, and Taiwan, VFR manufactures drones and distributes them worldwide. Located in the manufacturing hub of Nagano prefecture, close to manufacturing giants like Seiko Epson and Toyota and various aircraft and robotics manufacturers, VFR distributes drones to nationwide IT vendors in Japan. In addition, VFR intends to leverage Yuasa’s background as a former Dell employee and his knowledge of the PC distribution channel in the US to sell drones to American markets. These advantages, in turn, bestow VFR with the ability to build, distribute and sell sophisticated drones at far cheaper costs.

That’s not all. To enhance customer experience, VFR provides clients with customer services that include PC/IT gear, cloud solutions, and services, along with cloud-based product manuals that can be read with smartphones or PCs by scanning QR codes on products or boxes. The company is also working on an AI-powered chatbot to assist consumers 24/7/365. The VFR e-commerce site powered by Shopify also sells drone products and provides related educational services to its customers. Joining hands with TD SYNNEX Japan, VFR will be making its drone products available to IT, hardware, and software distributors across Japanese markets. These value-added services make VFR stand apart from other players in the drone manufacturing space.

Further adding value to clients is VFR’s go-to-market strategy that stands on three pillars – ToA, ToB, and ToC. ToA refers to VFR’s association with Japanese industrial and manufacturing conglomerates, with whom the company installs its drones in infrastructure projects across Japan. In contrast, ToB pertains to VFR’s partnerships with electronic parts trading companies, wherein it supplies core drone parts and modules for robotics manufacturers through a B2B model. Finally, ToC is VFR’s B2C model that comprises drone education and aerial photography modules and contributes to its corporate branding. “With our ToC strategy, we target Generation-Z for our products and services because they will take on the “lead role” in society after a decade,” remarks Yuasa. To that end, VFR’s online drone operating manual that is easily accessible from smartphones and available on YouTube and drone-related information shared on social media sites come in handy in creating customer connect.

VFR leverages the quintessential Japanese manufacturing legacy and open innovation model that utilises the varied domain expertise of industry veterans to mass-produce drones for commercial and government usage. For instance, VFR developed a novel drone for PoC delivery within the Nasu Highland Park resort for delivering food, beverages and even rings. In collaboration with a government agency, VFR modified and repurposed the delivery drone for dam routes and mountain roads inspection to aid disaster recovery following heavy rainstorms, courtesy of a team of industrial designers and aeroplane engineers. The refashioned drone, which has aeroplane-like wings, can cover equivalent to 80 per cent of the Japanese islands including resort area. “We are now developing the drone for nationwide coverage,” adds Yuasa.

Onwards to the Next Level of Drone Tech and Usage

In the future, VFR will strive to take their drones to the next level by making them comparable to level 4 drones with autonomous flight features. To that end, VFR will leverage the expertise of industrial designers, aeroplane and automobile tech veterans, and data science experts to make the advanced drone market-ready by the first quarter of 2023. Alongside, VFR is working with autonomous drone manufacturer ACSL on a next-generation level 3 delivery drone that can fly over the countryside, with plans to gradually develop it to level 4 by the end of 2023. Also, VFR is developing an automatic take-off and landing base system for drones utilised in disaster prevention, inspections and delivery purposes.

Dedicated to building secure, high-performance, and affordable drones, the company is on a mission to launch drones for mass, everyday usage. “For that, we have launched drone education for users ranging from children to the elderly. They can train themselves and use our industrial drones for their own needs in future,” informs Yuasa. VFR is set to soar to new heights with their drones and transform social infrastructure like never before in the coming days.