TechEagle is India's pioneer and largest manufacturer of long-range, high-speed, heavy-payload delivery drone logistics systems. The company is dedicated to establishing an on-demand drone delivery network across the country that focuses on enhancing healthcare, e-commerce, maritime logistics, and hyperlocal delivery access. To know more about the company and its services, we had a conversation with Vikram Singh Meena, an IIT Kanpur alumnus and Founder of TechEagle Innovations.
Q. Give a brief overview of TechEagle and the motivation behind working in the field of Aerospace Component Manufacturing.
Vikram Singh Meena, an IIT Kanpur alumnus, started TechEagle Innovations in 2015. TechEagle is a pioneer and leading Drone delivery company that specialises in deploying an intrinsic logistics system for a fast, efficient, and robust supply chain network for the healthcare, e-commerce, hyperlocal, maritime, and defence industries through the use of our made in India Hybrid e-VTOL Technology. TechEagle has been collaborating with numerous state governments (e.g. Himachal Pradesh, Telangana, Meghalaya, Nagaland, etc.) and large enterprises (e.g. Zomato, Jeena & Company, etc.) to enable them to use Drone-based logistics.
TechEagle is a deep tech firm founded by IIT Kanpur alumni with extensive aviation and engineering backgrounds. With over 9 years of operating experience, we specialise in designing, manufacturing, and deploying best-in-class Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (commonly known as "Drones").
Q. How did the company get started, and how has the journey been through the years?
Growing up in a village with limited road access, I saw my family and the greater community suffer due to a lack of basic and better medical amenities. I was resolved to fix this critical problem one day after losing loved ones to snake bites and mishaps. When I first arrived at IIT-Kanpur in 2012, I was exposed to aviation as a pastime. The campus provided us with a solid understanding of drone research, development, and operations. Early in my journey, we created drones and competed in and won a variety of national and international competitions.
We stumbled upon a problem in 2015 when we had to travel 100 kilometres between Kanpur and Lucknow on a regular basis for documentation for my international excursions. At the time, we were building a long-range aircraft at the IIT-Kanpur private airfield. One day, while talking with my pals, we decided that instead of travelling all the way to Lucknow, we should send packages there. It took me back to my youth, and I looked deep into it, realising what a significant problem logistics can be, not just in the healthcare sector but across industries. This is when I realised, I should get started since we have a major problem to tackle, a solution, and the capability.
I began my journey to solve difficulties that me and my village faced by starting TechEagle in 2015, with an aim to build the world's largest Drone Logistics Airline to save and improve billions of lives.
TechEagle's journey has been nothing short of eventful. In the last seven years, we have worked on several projects with the state governments of Telangana, Meghalaya, Nagaland, and Himachal Pradesh to bring healthcare to the state's most distant places. In addition, we have secured various partnerships with well-known organisations such as Astral Aviation, Zomato, and Jeen & Co.
Q. What kind of services do you offer, and what are your company's products?
TechEagle offers best-in-class drone delivery services for civil applications with our wholly Indian-made Hybrid e-VTOL Drone.
TechEagle focuses on deploying and manufacturing UAV drones for the common good of society by refining the healthcare system and delivery network across the country. We specialize in making delivery drones that have e-VTOL technology and don't require a runway to take off or land — saving money and time. Additionally, we offer affordable, long-range, heavy payload drones that are studded with advanced AI technology to manoeuvre and mitigate in extreme environments. Safety and security are the utmost priority of TechEagle drones and we lay elaborate fail-safe plans to ensure that the cargo and the UAV are safe.
Q. Tell us about your collaboration with the Himachal Pradesh government to use TechEagle Drones to distribute pharmaceuticals.
We partnered with Govt. of Himachal Pradesh to enable the state for On-demand Drone delivery for medical items and parcels. Our Hybrid e-VTOL drone flew 15 kilometres in less than 9 minutes during -5°C temperature and heavy wind speed of 25 km/h to deliver pharmaceuticals in the Tirthan valley, in Kullu District, Himachal Pradesh. It was 10X Faster than road transportation, which takes over 90 minutes to reach the intended place.
Drone technology is helping to solve problems in modern healthcare, including eliminating barriers to COVID-19 vaccine delivery in remote places.
Q. How close is the company to attain its mission of delivering 1,00,000 packages per day using a safe, reliable, and meticulously efficient Drone delivery network?
This is a continuous process and we are partnering with various state Govts and private industries to enable them for Drone-based delivery with safety and reliability. Everyday, we are moving closer to our goal of delivering 1,00,000 packages per day. It might sound a difficult number to achieve but with our Team’s focus, persistence, and grit it will be achieved sooner than expected.
Q. TechEagle Drones are already in the air to transform logistics for healthcare, and eCommerce. What would be the next target industries?
TechEagle is focusing on Food, Grocery, Pharmacy and any local parcel delivery in Hyperlocal Industry other than healthcare and e-commerce.
Q. What have been the major technical challenges while building these Drones?
While building our products, we have faced major challenges regarding the raw materials procurement and testing fields and facilities for long-range and heavy payload Drones.
Q. Your roadmap for the coming years?
Now, the drone industry is expanding fast after liberalised Drone Rules 2021, PLI Scheme and Drone import bans. So is TechEagle. We are also expanding rapidly with our ready Drones and years of experience and tech innovation.
TechEagle plans to grow its supply chain network over the next year by partnering with various state governments and enterprises to enable them for Drone-based logistics. Our team is constantly working to bring world-class products and new capabilities to the market.
