How India is Building Drone Flight Controllers from Scratch - Inside Agam Robotics

Añadido: 2026-06-01

[00:00:03]Imagine a drone flying in midair constantly doing hundreds of calculations every second to figure out where it is, where to move, and also making sure not to crash into anything.

[00:00:14]That intelligence, that brain that controls everything is your flight controller. But the problem is if you're building drones in India, you're probably buying this brain from overseas. But today we have a company here solving that problem for us.

[00:00:29]>> [music] >> Just like importing the parts and like slapping a made in India sticker into it and like selling it in the market.

[00:00:48]Indian drones being used by defense being hacked by like neighboring countries.

[00:00:57]Maybe 5 10 years back drones was like you know more of hobby.

[00:01:04]>> [music] >> Meet Agam Robotics, a startup in Bangalore who's building their very own flight controllers from scratch. Not only that, they're also building a complete drone ecosystem including GPS sensors, optical flow sensors, range finders, and much more. In this video, let's understand what it takes to design and manufacture drone components in India and how it is going to help us to design and build drones and iterate them much faster. Before we get started, let me quickly introduce the sponsors for this video, Digi-Key. Digi-Key is a global leader in cutting-edge commerce distribution of electronic components and automation products worldwide. They provide more than 18 million components from over 3,000 manufacturers with products in stock available for immediate shipment. Also, with their fast shipping and excellent customer support, you can always trust that your products will arrive on time and in top condition. So, do remember to check out Digi-Key for your next order. So, to tell us the complete story of Agam Robotics, we have Mr. Kartik Rangharaj here, who is the founder, CEO, and CTO of Agam Robotics. So, Kartik, thank you so much for joining us today.

[00:02:16]>> Thank you. Thanks a lot.

[00:02:17]>> So, Kartik, the first thing I want to ask you is when I looked into the website, one line particularly caught my attention, which is hardware made with blood, sweat, and tears, and imported ICs. So, let's start with the story behind that line and how it has evolved Agam Robotics into what it is today.

[00:02:32]>> Sure.

[00:02:33]So, uh in the day and age of uh drone companies where like, you know, they are uh just like importing the parts and like slapping a made-in-India sticker into it and like selling it in the market. Uh we wanted to emphasize more on uh what is being manufactured and uh from like the stage of PCB fabrication, assembly, and all the plastics like including like, you know, the enclosures, uh aluminum for like, you know, heat sinking and everything, which are all manufactured in India. We wanted to emphasize that part more. So, the uh name blood, sweat, and tears is actually like corresponds to the product being manufactured from the bottom up, which means we have manufactured everything from scratch.

[00:03:12]>> Mhm.

[00:03:13]>> And we are making sure like, you know, we are uh truly indigenous and like, you know, con- controlling that supply chain.

[00:03:18]>> Mhm.

[00:03:19]>> Wherein to some extent, yeah, like our components, uh electronic components, as you know, semiconductor industry in India is like uh totally nonexistent at this stage. Uh so, hopefully, like it grows, but for now, like we had to depend on importing.

[00:03:34]So, we do that uh part of it like where we had to import it, but rest of the process, as I said, uh PCB fabrication, assembly, and enclosures, everything is being manufactured in here in India. So, that's how we emphasize that blood, sweat, and tears.

[00:03:46]>> Okay, perfect. I'm kind of curious to get in-depth about your hardware, but before we do that, can you quickly tell us about your product portfolio so far?

[00:03:54]Like what all products has Agam Robotics built so far?

[00:03:57]>> Sure. So, as you see on the website, like all the products what we have released in the market will be there on the product shop page.

[00:04:05]>> Okay.

[00:04:05]>> Starting from like, you know, Agam autopilot, which is our the flagship product. Uh we can talk in depth about the technical aspects of it. And that one and all the GPS series what we have released, GPS is GNSS 01 and GNSS 02. And then fluorine sensor, which is an optical flow and range finder integrated into a can port.

[00:04:24]And then power distribution boards and various power modules, which goes into the like different size of drones. Like we have come up with like two, three variations now, and there are a few more variations of power module and GNSS is in the development.

[00:04:37]>> Okay.

[00:04:38]>> But like whatever the products we have putted in the website is all released, and which means it has been tested uh in the market, and then like we release it like once we build the inventory.

[00:04:49]>> So, I understood. If you have to classify products that are already in the market ready to be sold and the products that are in prototype stage, uh how would that classification look like?

[00:04:58]>> Uh like it's both actually, like, you know, vertical and horizontal is what we are doing. So, within like, you know, verticals, like we are coming up with like various types of systems. The one is like we have our autopilot and flight controller sector.

[00:05:10]And then we have our GNSS uh modules, which are like only for like GNSS uh setup.

[00:05:15]>> Okay.

[00:05:16]>> And then we have like sensors where we have like other types of sensors also coming along with optical flow and range finders. And then within power modules and power distribution board, we have like various versions of it coming up. For like, you know, let's say different sizes of drones. Like right now we cater to smaller drones and slightly uh medium-size drones.

[00:05:34]>> Okay.

[00:05:34]>> But if you take like, you know, agriculture drones, which are like huge, that requires a different current rating. Like, you know, it requires 400, 500 amps. Uh for now on the DPM or like, you know, the power module side, we have come up with like up to 150 to 200 amps.

[00:05:47]>> Okay.

[00:05:48]>> So, we are working on developing uh much higher current rating or higher current supported systems.

[00:05:53]>> Mhm.

[00:05:53]>> And at the same time, these are like in the horizontals within those segment.

[00:05:57]And within vertical, we are also coming with few other products which I can't talk right now. As I said, like you know, we only release the products into the market once we have tested internally. So, there there are like multiple products which are under development at different product cycles.

[00:06:11]>> Mhm.

[00:06:11]>> So, those are all like in the development stages.

[00:06:13]>> Okay, perfect. So, Karthik, you mentioned flight controller boards and a lot of sensors, power distribution boards. And all of this is being designed and manufactured by Agni Robotics, right?

[00:06:23]>> Exactly.

[00:06:24]>> And I can see a lot of work happening behind us. There are people designing firmware, PCBs. Some modules are being assembled here. Can you tell us what exactly is happening in this facility right here?

[00:06:33]>> Sure. So, we design everything in our facility starting from like you know the layout and like you know the planning of how the product has to be. Uh and then we also foresee like you know how the enclosures or like you know what product needs enclosures. We figure out like all that and like we plan it out.

[00:06:49]>> Mhm.

[00:06:49]>> And then the manufacturing is outsourced which is also happening within India.

[00:06:53]>> Mhm.

[00:06:54]>> And now we have like recently moved everything within Bangalore so that like we have the logistics everything sorted out.

[00:06:59]>> Okay.

[00:07:00]>> There is like no delay of like you know shipments or like getting the parts or like even let's say some modification needs to be done. We have like you know they're right nearby and like we just go over and like quickly get it sorted out.

[00:07:10]>> So, what are the variations in flight controllers that is being offered by Agni Robotics?

[00:07:14]>> So, our flagship product Agni Autopilot V6X-RT which is based on Pixhawk standards. We recently launched the V6X-RT which was uh create the standard itself was created based on the product we had designed in uh um in work with you know NXP. We are like their ecosystem partner and we have been like you know partnering and like we have been developing this entire thing.

[00:07:38]So, this standard is the latest and greatest in the entire Pixhawk uh standards itself.

[00:07:45]>> So, there are like V5, V5X, V6, V6X, and now V6X RT. RT stands for real-time processor, which is being provided by the NXP chip what we use. So, here if you see for example like Uh this is typically >> the V6 RT which is >> Yes.

[00:08:00]>> Okay.

[00:08:00]>> So, this is typically based on Pixhawk standards, so you have the same connectors of you know 50 and 100 pin connector >> Okay.

[00:08:05]>> and follows the same standards of all the ports and input-output ports >> Mhm.

[00:08:10]>> and power and all these motor controls, everything is like based on the standard. It's typically like a connectorless, I mean solderless design, fully connectorized.

[00:08:18]>> Okay.

[00:08:18]>> So, you just like plug in the connectors which we offer along with the autopilot.

[00:08:21]You can connect to various devices and then like you'll be set into the drone and then you have the software to configure how you want it to be.

[00:08:28]>> Okay.

[00:08:28]>> So, this one is based on the NXP chip uh which is IMX RT 1176, which is the real-time processor and also like you know it has a dual core dual core processor which is one core is like 1 GHz >> Okay.

[00:08:43]>> and the second core is like 400 MHz.

[00:08:45]>> Okay.

[00:08:45]>> Now, if you compare this with like you know the six uh 6X or 5X standards, which are all using like STM32, they're all like single core which uses only 480 MHz.

[00:08:56]>> Mhm.

[00:08:56]>> One other advantage with the NXP chip here is that uh you'll be able to like you know completely eliminate having a secondary microcontroller which is for expanding that IO devices.

[00:09:07]>> Okay.

[00:09:07]>> Because in STM32 based, you don't have that uh number of IO pins required for it. So, most of the standards like you know adopted to using a secondary microcontroller to expand that IO devices.

[00:09:19]>> Mhm.

[00:09:19]>> So, that a lot of the motors will be connected through that secondary port and then that communicates to them other microcontroller.

[00:09:25]>> Okay.

[00:09:25]>> So, this has like few disadvantages wherein like you know you had to come up with like two different firmwares for both >> Mhm.

[00:09:31]>> and then like you know that requires extra additional hardware and maintenance and everything. So, here we have completely eliminated that and put everything into it. First is because the chip can handle it. It has more number of IO ports than like you know, right now we are using in this current hardware. And that's the reason we have completely eliminated that IO processor separately and everything has been merged into single chip which gives you that ability to handle only one single firmware.

[00:09:56]And along with that because of you know, the chip can handle more IO devices, we have added more number of ports than any other autopilots or flight controllers in the market. So, you can literally see there is a CAN 3 port which is like literally non-existent before we came up with the hardware. We partnered with NXP and like we developed it until that no one had come with like you know, third CAN port.

[00:10:18]You know, typically why this makes a difference here is not just the CAN port or if you take like any UART or like you know, any ports you look into it. People need more number of devices to make the system stable. So, more sensors you add, the drone framework or like the drone system becomes more effective.

[00:10:38]>> So, Kartik, one thing that I want to understand here, I think you have already partially answered it but still I would like to frame it this way that the flight controllers that you are building is based on Pixhawk, right?

[00:10:46]Now, Pixhawk being an open source platform, the hardware is already open source and even the firmware that's running, it's PX4 which is again an open source firmware. So, what I would like to understand is building why would have we have to build our own version of a flight controller in India and what kind of advantages it would have like what has Agam Robotics contributed on top of the existing platform and how has it made it specific for the Indian market?

[00:11:12]>> Sure.

[00:11:13]First thing is to differentiate like you know, the open source and open system here. Pixhawk is a open system design. Meaning they'll give you what microcontroller to use and what are the pinouts being read by the firmware side. And then you can replace what chip will match that and you have to build your own hardware into it. So they haven't made the schematics or the design open source yet.

[00:11:36]>> Okay.

[00:11:37]>> So this is like the open source system in the sense like they tell you like you can use whatever microcontroller with the spinouts, with this layout. And on the firmware side yes, PX4 is an open source firmware and it's based on BSD licensing which means people can take the code and add their own features and still like you know commercialize it or sell it at a license fee as well. That is where we have that advantage with PX4 in our hardware.

[00:11:59]And what we have done here is like we worked with NXP and whatever the pinouts they have given we created another pinouts for NXP specific specifically which can actually use the same firmware and utilize that features and functionality.

[00:12:16]>> Okay.

[00:12:16]>> And on top of that we have added more number of features and functionality into the hardware and why we need to do this or why Agnikul Aerospace is doing it is first is self-reliance.

[00:12:27]We have been like you know having due to COVID and like you know all these supply chain issues we have seen lot of issues with the getting the parts from outside.

[00:12:36]First is we need to be self-reliant in getting the parts and for us to be available. That is one and second is like if you see lot of the off-the-shelf parts you buy it and something happens you don't have the opportunity to fix it because you don't have the support or service from the supplier who has given that.

[00:12:54]>> Okay.

[00:12:54]>> It could be routed through an Indian distributor or like you're directly importing it. You don't get that official support from them. Right now what has to happen is like if they are using the off-the-shelf parts they have to put this query into the forum.

[00:13:06]It could be like an open forum or like you know Discord servers and then wait for someone to respond to it. They don't get that immediate support. So that is where we want to provide that value addition of providing that support and availability of that you know supply chain so that whoever buys it has the confirmation and confidence and trust that this product is available and they can take it forward for their uh products.

[00:13:28]>> So Karthik, one more thing I want to understand here is this latest flight controller built by Agni Robotics using the NXP processor. I understand that it's much faster, has a lot of peripherals, but for someone out there building a drone, why should they care about it? Like which level of complexity or at what stage will they need more peripherals or a much higher processing speed or dual core? When is the time that they will need such kind of a flight controller? In application wise, what kind of applications would need this autopilot flight controller?

[00:13:58]>> Uh typically I would say like every application requires it. Uh I'm not just saying like you know to push our product or anything.

[00:14:05]>> Okay.

[00:14:05]>> Uh why I'm saying it is like one of the reason I was personally searching for a better processor back in 2020 was uh most of the STM32 flight controllers which are there in the market off-the-shelf parts. Uh I have seen the CPU overload issues all the time.

[00:14:20]>> Okay.

[00:14:20]>> So which means like when you connect multiple devices, the processor can't handle the data rates which are being sent by the sensor devices.

[00:14:28]>> Mhm.

[00:14:28]>> So it has to like you know uh kind of like a skip certain data in between and then process it because it's like for example a sensor like GPS is sending like a 10 hertz data. It is not able to handle a 10 hertz and then like it skips data in between.

[00:14:43]>> Okay.

[00:14:43]>> Which means on the flight when you're like you know flying the drone, you're losing the potential information from the sensor data to process it on board in real time and then like you know this leads to potential crashes. And uh typically if you compare the cost wise, there is no changes within the chip.

[00:14:59]>> Okay.

[00:15:00]>> So when you say like you know it's 1 gigahertz processor and like you know the other one is like 480 megahertz, you have like you know a huge processing capability which means like chip is going to be expo expense expense expensive and our autopilot is going to be expensive is something not truly right.

[00:15:15]>> Oh.

[00:15:16]>> The reason why our cost is like that is the reason because we are manufacturing everything in India from right from PCB fabrication, the enclosures, everything is being done in India. That is where the cost adds. It's not just because of a chip thing. It's the overall cost of like manufacturing. Because like you know the if you like look into the details of the boards itself, the PCBs are like 10-layer and 6-layer boards.

[00:15:39]And then like all these plastics and aluminum CNC machining, everything is being done in India. That pushes the cost higher.

[00:15:46]>> Okay. Okay. So in our previous discussion, I remember you mentioned that security is an important part in the flight controller. Now, what I want to understand is why do we need security in flight controllers? Because the way I I understand is drone is being controlled by a pilot. Maybe there is some data being sent back to the ground station. Where is a security problem here? And if there is a problem, how is Agni Robotics addressing it with its flight controllers?

[00:16:11]>> Sure, that's a great question. Recently we have might have seen in the news like you know there are Indian drones being used by defense being hacked by like neighboring countries. They took it over and then like you know gave it back to like you know Indian airspace.

[00:16:26]The reason why this happens is the security concerns there. So what is happening here is like the autopilot because it's completely open and like it's available, people are able to like directly hack into the system and read the data from it. Read the logs. It's all like unencrypted logs which are like reading and like utilizing where the drones have been flying, who has been doing what, where it has been going through. So you get all these information which are logged into the system.

[00:16:51]So what we are doing right now is we have added the secure element chip into it.

[00:16:57]And it has all the peripherals needed.

[00:16:59]Wherein like people can develop the features what they want to build that security into the system. What we give is the complete hardware which is needed to develop that.

[00:17:08]And right now we are working with developers on adding more features and functionality into it. If anyone who are building that kind of a security purposes, they can actually utilize these features and completely make their system secure. This is on the defense side. Uh now, what is happening in another set of things in the drone market is lot of the drones are being put online. The moment you put a drone onto the internet, it is hackable.

[00:17:34]Anyone from anywhere, even though it is not in the border or like in the defense area or anything, you can actually monitor that drone online, which is all a security issues. They can have some kind of security check on the cloud-based systems. But, the drone itself is being connected to the network without any monitoring setup is where the critical issue is. So, now with the secure element, you can have completely encrypted and secured drone which has its own code within like if someone tries to hack it, it doesn't allow you to do it. No like literally no tamper-proofing system on the physical hardware.

[00:18:08]It's not just like, you know, firmware level security. It's a hardware security. This chip is like a even if some tampering is done physically on the drone, it will not allow you to read anything from it.

[00:18:19]>> Okay.

[00:18:19]>> Until you give up a private key access to it and then like read from it. All the logs, everything gets like encrypted. This is what we are giving in the hardware.

[00:18:28]So, based on the applications and use cases, they can utilize these features.

[00:18:32]>> Okay. Okay. Perfect. And as I understand, Agni Robotics is not just manufacturing flight controllers, but is also building an ecosystem around it by providing your own GPS modules, range finding sensors, optical flow sensors, and such. So, why did you get into that idea and also explain the portfolio of the additional add-on modules that you have built for your flight controllers?

[00:18:52]>> A great question. So, when we build like autopilots, a lot of the customers who are developing their entire drone solutions, because we cater to the drone markets where they are like they are building drones for like certain use cases or applications.

[00:19:07]Uh they typically use like other off-the-shelf parts.

[00:19:10]It could be like GPS or like, you know, motors, ESC combo, or like, you know, sensors. Uh even though we are like developing based on open-source platform, PX4, certain products in the market do not support multiple firmware.

[00:19:24]>> Okay.

[00:19:24]>> Some cases like they support only PX4, and like some cases they only support auto pilot.

[00:19:29]>> Mhm.

[00:19:29]>> And most of the people who buy this won't have that knowledge, or they don't look into this aspect.

[00:19:35]>> Mhm.

[00:19:35]>> Or some cases like those products, even though they claim it supports PX4, >> Mhm.

[00:19:39]>> will not be supporting it.

[00:19:40]>> Okay.

[00:19:41]>> Or in very some cases they'll support only very old firmware, but they haven't added the latest firmware support for that uh specific product.

[00:19:49]>> Okay.

[00:19:49]>> So, we had all these issues for the last one or two years.

[00:19:52]>> Mhm.

[00:19:52]>> So, we were like this not this not going to work out because we had to keep troubleshooting with the customer, and then uh finally realized like after hours and days of troubleshooting >> it was a hardware issue, and when you plug other product, it works with our auto pilot flawlessly. So, that's something we understood like, you know, this is not going to work out until we build that ecosystem for them. So, we thought like, "Okay, let's build that ecosystem."

[00:20:13]>> Mhm.

[00:20:14]>> For the user, it'll be complete plug and play.

[00:20:16]>> Mhm.

[00:20:16]>> Like we'll be like, you know, integrating and testing every product with our auto pilot, so we know how it is working and how it needs to communicate.

[00:20:22]>> Mhm.

[00:20:23]>> And at the same time it will also be compatible with other devices.

[00:20:26]>> Okay.

[00:20:27]>> We try to provide all support to multiple firmware.

[00:20:29]>> Mhm.

[00:20:30]>> So, for example, we have customers who don't use PX4 exclusively with our auto pilot. So, they buy any like, you know, Indian-made or like off-the-shelf products.

[00:20:38]>> Okay.

[00:20:38]>> But they use our GNSS and optical flow sensor like uh flow rate sensors, and integrate with that system. We are not like restricting our hardware within our ecosystem.

[00:20:47]>> modular.

[00:20:47]>> It's still modular where they can take it and put it into other devices, and it will still work.

[00:20:52]>> So, now let's talk about your typical design cycle for a product. Let's say you're building your optical flow sensor. Uh once you've decided that you're going to build it, how much of time you have to put into it, and how does the whole design process look like?

[00:21:06]What kind of challenges do you face? I also remember one of your tweets saying that you waited 6 months for a sensor to arrive. So, give us that story also. So, tell us how a typical design cycle looks like and the main challenges that you face when you're building your own uh drone products for India.

[00:21:23]>> Sure. So, uh typically the product cycle ranges from few months to almost an year. We had like one or two products which has taken for a year to like, you know, from the stage of prototyping, from the stage of designing to getting the prototypes, testing, and multiple iterations of testing even before the launch. Like, a lot of products what we see is just like, okay, it's there. Like, we have done it.

[00:21:45]>> Okay.

[00:21:45]>> But, like, people don't understand what has happened like in the behind the scenes. So, it has taken multiple tests, multiple cycles of like, you know, prototyping wherein there could be like, you know, manufacturing issues or, you know, supply chain issues, getting the parts like, you know, on time. As I said, like, you know, the certain components has taken like months to get us. Like, most of the component has a lead time of like, you know, 20-30 weeks. So, we don't get that immediately. So, all those adds up the time for us to develop our product.

[00:22:12]So, again, it depends on few months to year based on the type of product we are designing.

[00:22:18]>> Uh if you have to, you know, uh distribute some pain points among this vertical. So, uh in the initial stage there is ideation, design validation, stuff like that. And then you go for prototyping, procurement, and then there is PCB manufacturing, testing a pilot lot, and then getting into manufacturing. If you have to split your timeline between these, which is the most time-consuming part and which is the most technically challenging part for an engineer in India?

[00:22:43]>> I would say every stage is a very critical part. So, every stage has its own uh problems which needs to be resolved.

[00:22:50]>> Okay.

[00:22:50]>> And it may not repeat in the next stage.

[00:22:52]>> Okay.

[00:22:53]>> New problems will arise in that.

[00:22:54]>> Okay.

[00:22:54]>> Uh typically the prototypes like, you know, because there is very less to uh validate the design and, uh you know, do it. Or like, there are software licenses which will cost like the bomb for a startup.

[00:23:05]>> Mhm.

[00:23:05]>> We don't typically go in that route. So, we go with like, you know, let's get the product uh manufactured. Let's test this prototypes like, you know, as is.

[00:23:13]>> Mhm.

[00:23:14]>> Manufacture it and then like, you know, start debugging and troubleshooting from there. And once we validate, okay, this is like good or like some modification needs to be done. So, we go with the next iteration of prototyping.

[00:23:25]>> Mhm.

[00:23:26]>> So, if that is something a very small change, we directly move to mass production by making those changes. If it is a very critical change which we don't uh have the confidence that this will be like, you know, working in the mass production, we don't do the mass production. We go again with another set of prototypes like 10 numbers or five number, test it out. And then move to a complete mass production.

[00:23:46]>> Mhm.

[00:23:46]>> So, this typical process has its own problems there.

[00:23:49]>> Right.

[00:23:50]>> Prototyping, a lot of testing has to be done to make sure every use case and every corner cases are like targeted so that like an end customer it doesn't fail.

[00:23:58]>> Mhm.

[00:23:59]>> And then once we test everything and it's all good and move to mass production, mass production has its own issues. For example, like, you know, procuring of components, the lead times which it adds. And then the like, you know, the supply chain like, you know, getting the parts. And then mass production, the scaling part itself has its own issues. Like something what we have not seen or observed in the prototyping stage will have its own issues in the mass production.

[00:24:21]>> Mhm.

[00:24:21]>> And then like, you know, when you scale it like there could be some yield issues. Like, you know, some products like manufacturing issue will be there.

[00:24:28]It just doesn't work out of the manufacturing plant itself. So, we had to troubleshoot like why those boards are not working.

[00:24:34]>> Mhm.

[00:24:34]>> And then like we had to plan as I said, the enclosures part of it. So, that will also come up with its own issues like fitment. Something will not fit. Or like, you know, they have inserted very wrongly in some batches and like, you know, we had to like and send it back, get it repaired or like reproduce it.

[00:24:48]So, all that adds cost and money and time, which is very critical for us.

[00:24:52]>> Okay, understood. So, Karthik, you just mentioned procurement as one of the pain points. How would you describe Digi-Key solving that problem?

[00:25:00]>> Oh, like Digi-Key has helped us a lot in like, you know, prototyping. Like, you know, we do a lot of our prototypes by procuring components from Digi-Key because it's much faster and quicker. We just get it like in few days, like, you know, 10 to 15 days at max we get the parts. By the time the PCB fabrication everything happens and it's ready for assembly. So, it has definitely helped us a lot in terms of, you know, getting the parts much quicker and get that prototypes rolling.

[00:25:25]>> Okay, perfect. So, one more thing I wanted to ask you is you mentioned that you're also building your company as a drone ecosystem rather than just a company facing industrial customers. Why is that and what do you think is the relationship between, you know, hobbies and the drone industry in general?

[00:25:43]>> Uh if you compare the entire drone industry has been built on top of the drone community.

[00:25:51]>> Mhm.

[00:25:52]>> So, most of these drones which are being used in the industrial applications are all coming from the hobby side where people have been just building it for fun and then the use cases started popping up.

[00:26:02]>> Mhm.

[00:26:03]>> So, that's how it has been like, you know, growing in the industry. Like, it's a very nascent industry wherein like we don't have a specific educational sector where it is like, you know, these specific topics in related to drones are being taught.

[00:26:17]>> Mhm.

[00:26:17]>> So, these are something like most of the kids or engineers are like learning or like self-learning these things. It's all self-taught process like watching YouTube or like, you know, talking to people in the community or like, you know, in forums, Discord servers. That's how it has been.

[00:26:31]>> Mhm.

[00:26:31]>> So, I also personally come from the same background. I started my journey like in 2012 as a hobbyist. Back then and even now if you see, most of them do not understand the differences of the firmware and what needs to be done, like, what is the compliances they need to cater to. All they think about is like, I need this problem to be resolved. I need to fix this. So, let's do it.

[00:26:51]>> Mhm. So, that's how it has been in the community.

[00:26:54]>> Mhm. But, like most of these engineers are getting directly hired into the industry.

[00:26:59]Wherein, like drone companies who are building drones for specific applications, they directly, like you know, hire these people and deploy it in, like you know, certain use cases or applications. That That kind of thought process, they just bring it into the industry as well.

[00:27:12]So, they don't understand the technical aspects of it or the compliances or like what they need to follow, what they need not follow. The hobby side is totally different to the industrial side.

[00:27:22]So, industrial side requires the industrial quality as well.

[00:27:26]So, meaning, like you know, the components which are being used, as I mentioned, like you know, the class two, class three product components what we use in the autopilot, that all pushes the industrial requirement in the sector. Which is what we mostly focus on. And when we cater to the market where, like the hobbies are, like you know, using our product, we are indirectly actually training them and educating them of what is right, so that they are prepared when they enter the industry.

[00:27:52]>> Okay. So, what kind of demo are you going to show us now?

[00:27:54]>> So, we'll do a basic flight test and do a hover test. And as you have seen, like you know, the the setup has been pretty set to default. So, no changes or tuning has been done on the drone. Okay. So, it's like basic default settings with basic parameters. By only enabling the parameters of our products which we have connected. Example, CAN devices needs to be enabled. And certain parameters needs to be set. We have done that basic setup. And we'll try to do a hover test.

[00:28:19]And once that is done, we can bring it closer to, let's say, 4 to 5 ft. And then I'll also demonstrate, like the optical flow sensor's capability of holding that position. And we can show, like you know, how it is fighting with, like you know, external forces.

[00:28:32]And then we can see from there.

[00:28:33]>> Okay, perfect. Let's see it in action.

[00:28:44]>> So, right now, with the height, like it's able to hold the position based on optical flow sensor.

[00:28:48]>> Okay.

[00:28:49]>> Because it's closer to the ground.

[00:28:50]>> Mhm.

[00:28:51]>> And once you go, let's say beyond like 70, 80 m or 100 m, >> Mhm.

[00:28:55]>> the GPS will take over and like that will be like, you know, used for position holding.

[00:28:59]>> Okay.

[00:29:00]>> So, as you can see like a little bit of wind, >> Mhm.

[00:29:03]>> to hold the position and being a very small drone.

[00:29:06]>> Right.

[00:29:07]>> So, this kind of testing is being done for every single product that goes out of Agam Robotics?

[00:29:11]>> Yes, that's correct. Like we test all our products on the drone >> Okay.

[00:29:15]>> and make sure like it has passed like all these, you know, basic functionality, connectivity, and like, you know, the power ratings.

[00:29:23]For example, power module has its own power rating.

[00:29:25]>> Right.

[00:29:26]>> So, we check all those. In autopilot, we check all these sensors and like, you know, calibration, uh sensor data and then like, you know, integrate with all these ports and check if all those ports are working.

[00:29:35]>> Okay.

[00:29:36]>> Every like, you know, for some reason like we have aligned our product releases >> Uh-huh.

[00:29:40]>> based on Bangalore weather.

[00:29:42]>> [laughter] >> Okay.

[00:29:43]>> like a very cloudy environment like in July, August, >> Uh-huh.

[00:29:47]>> where we launched our GNSS module.

[00:29:49]>> Okay.

[00:29:50]>> Even with cloudy day we used to get like 30 plus satellites.

[00:29:52]So, that was a good thing. And then we launched our optical flow sensor when it was like huge wind wind windy time.

[00:29:59]>> Like, you know, August, September, October time.

[00:30:02]>> Uh-huh.

[00:30:02]>> So, we were able to like, you know, get a very good hold with the optical flow sensor.

[00:30:05]>> Mhm.

[00:30:06]>> We have talked about the products from Agam Robotics and have also discussed what kind of problem it is solving. Now, to understand the business side and talk some numbers, we have Mr. Kapil here who is the co-founder and head of operations at Agam Robotics. So, hi Kapil. Thank you so much for joining us today. So, Kapil, the very first question I want to ask you about is as soon as you figured out this is what you're going to do, what kind of market analysis did you do before deciding yes, there is a requirement for this in India, outside India and we're going to do this. What kind of analysis did you do before starting it as a business?

[00:30:38]>> Yeah, as I understand like, you know, few years back like, you know, maybe 5, 10 years back drones was like, you know, more of hobby. So, that's how, like, you know, it started and, like, you know, when I came in as a co-founder and joined Karthik, you know, 2 years back and, like, you know, when I started my research on understanding drones or robotics as a system, we understood that, like, you know, there is a huge demand that is coming in from various sectors. It's not only defense, it's agri sector, it's surveillance sector, and even in services, like, you know, cleaning, maintenance, fire in those sectors, also, it has increased a lot.

[00:31:12]So, that is where we need industrial grade components in it. So, that's how, like, you know, we started understanding that market and said, like, yes, you know, it's not about creating drones, but we need to even go dig deeper into, you know, what kind of components that goes into building drones. So, that is where we started researching and, like, you know, saying that, okay, this is where we have to start our business.

[00:31:34]>> Okay, perfect. So, couple, now, let's go back to the very early stages of Agnikul Robotics. How were the sales back then or what was the time that you realized there is attraction for this?

[00:31:45]>> So, we started researching about, you know, autopilots back in 2020 during, you know, Karthik's, you know, college days, like, you know, immediate post-college days. And, like, you know, from 2023-2024 onwards, like, you know, we started coming up with prototypes and 2024 is where, like, you know, we released our first, you know, manufactured, like, you know, complete production-ready product.

[00:32:08]>> Okay.

[00:32:08]>> Which is Agnikul autopilot V6XRT. And we started with, you know, first batch, which is 100 units as, you know, our scale-up, you know, manufacturing goal kind of thing.

[00:32:20]>> When was this done, this first time?

[00:32:21]>> This is 2024.

[00:32:22]>> Okay.

[00:32:23]>> And, you know, we started gaining, you know, a lot of traction in, like, you know, in 2025 early, you know, that is where, like, you know, we started, you know, actually, it was in garage mode.

[00:32:34]So, at Karthik's place and, like, you know, we slowly, you know, moved into office and we started building a team and like you know, we scaled up our inventory and started investing money into you know, buying components and you know, scaling up manufacturing.

[00:32:47]>> So, couple, let's talk about that 2024 moment a bit more. So, you told that you did your first 100 pieces of pilot batch back then. How was the response for that pilot batch and what was the time you realized, yes, this could be a sustainable business?

[00:33:01]>> The pilot batch was like you know, prototype, not the you know, full production manufacturing. Pilot batch was like you know, around 20 units is what like you know, we started with.

[00:33:10]Like there is a momentum because like you know, most of the market was trying to buy from China, right? You know, 95% of the all over world market is occupied by China, right? There is already a demand.

[00:33:22]>> Okay. So, I think Agam Robotics is one of the very few companies which builds their own flight controllers in India.

[00:33:28]So, you have built the product, you have taken it to market. How was the response that you received? Like when you took your product to the market for the first time, how was the response from the customers?

[00:33:37]>> Response was good, I would say and more than actual like into internet response, people when actually they hold our product in their hands and see the quality of it and the hard work which went in like you know, they clearly understand like you know, when actually they touch the product and they see the product in hand. But like you know, we are actually putting all our actual product images in our website also. So, that actually getting us like you know, more credibility and like you know, our sales have been you know, very organic in nature.

[00:34:07]>> Right, I understand. So, what is your strategy for sales here as a drone component manufacturer? Do you primarily focus on selling through your own website or you looking for distributors?

[00:34:16]Like what is your strategy for sales here?

[00:34:18]>> We are definitely looking for you know, distributors to you know, sell our products. We are slowly you know, building that rapport with you know, a lot of distributors in India, e-commerce websites who are actually selling drone components and other electronic components as well.

[00:34:32]>> Okay.

[00:34:32]>> Uh but like you know, what they need is inventory, right? So, that is where like you know, we are you know, our first batch 100, uh and uh we are already started with you know, second batch 500 uh units of you know, autopilots. And like you know, we have we are getting into you know, different other products as well. So, you know, we are slowly building that inventory. Once we have that inventory, yes, we'll go to distributors. Uh this year, that is a plan. Like you know, we will be going to the distributors, and you know, we'll be tying up with them so that they can place our products in their website for sales.

[00:35:03]>> Okay, perfect. Now, let's talk about the challenges in being a manufacturer in India and uh selling products to the Indian market. So, when you take your products to the Indian market, what kind of challenges do you normally face? Is it being very price sensitive, or is it normally uh not acknowledging a manufacturer in India? What kind of challenges do you normally face when you take your products to the market?

[00:35:23]>> Again, I'll come back to the same thing.

[00:35:25]As a manufacturer in India, people don't trust as you know, very easily.

[00:35:31]Unless they actually see the product and the quality which we are making, they feel it is where like you know, that trust builds up. The demos we do is where uh the trust builds. Okay, saying that hey, you know, these people have delivered it, you know, a very good quality product, industrial quality product, and like it actually works properly, better than Chinese products, I would say. That's how we put it as.

[00:35:53]>> Okay.

[00:35:53]>> And uh related to the price market, we are competing with China products out here. But you know, we will not be beating these you know, Chinese prices.

[00:36:03]Definitely, we will not be able to do that. I'm very clear about it.

[00:36:06]>> Okay.

[00:36:07]>> But what we are trying to do is like you know, different sectors needs different kind of agri definitely is thinks about like you know, price. It's a you know, price market.

[00:36:16]>> Okay.

[00:36:16]>> Like you know, you can't keep price higher, and like you know, you can win that agri market. But if you come to defense, it is a self-reliance security issue to the country. So, they don't look over the price. They look out for the quality, right? So, that is where we want to push it and other sectors in between is slowly moving on to the reliability part and the service and support part. And that is the reason if you see we are selling our products with earlier we started with 6 months warranty for all our products. Now we are increasing it to 1 year warranty.

[00:36:46]>> Okay.

[00:36:47]>> And we are planning to start with you know annual maintenance support for our B2B customers who are buying it in bulk.

[00:36:54]>> So, I want to talk a bit more about a point that you mentioned that being an Indian manufacturer it's still tough to compete with the prices of the imported motors and imported components. Why is that still the case given that government has imposed import duties on these components that's coming into India on these flight controllers and drone parts coming into India. So, is that helping or what kind of support is further needed to boost Indian manufacturers to actually be able to sell their products to the Indian market?

[00:37:21]>> I would say even after you know those import duties and everything are placed on you know outside countries you know imports which are being happening still there is we can't compete with the prices unless we put capital infuse capital in our manufacturing capabilities and we scale it until we do that and scale it to large numbers. We are still at you know 500 units you know per quarter kind of thing which we are manufacturing.

[00:37:47]>> Okay.

[00:37:47]>> We need to increase even higher so that you know those costs come down. And as an ecosystem wherein like you know the PCB fabrication PCB assembly or the import of the components itself which we are doing it right now. So, all these are like you know very high cost if you're doing it in low numbers. The moment you increase the volume that is where the cost of manufacturing will get lowered and actually you know we have a bulk pricing as well to our customers B2B customers. All these like you know if you are doing in a volume and whatever the cost reduction that happens we are actually passing on to the customers.

[00:38:19]>> Okay. So, talking more on these regulations as someone who manufactures in India and exports to countries other than India, what kind of regulation challenges or government policy challenges do you normally face?

[00:38:31]>> I don't think for exports, we don't have much challenges within our country.

[00:38:36]I think again, which country we are exporting it to and their country import rules and regulations like, you know, for example, US. Recently, I think like, you know, a lot of FA rules and, you know, not for autopilot, but like, you know, for GNSS and everything. So, those things come up. So, we are slowly understanding those markets and we are slowly pushing up. If we are selling it as a prototypes or, you know, samples for them to, you know, start working on, then it is easy. It's only test, so, you know, no one, you know, ask for that these import duties or anything like that. But if you are actually doing a B2B bulk transaction out there exporting, I think definitely there will be challenges. We are trying to understand those and like, you know, we are trying to help them as well and understand like, you know, whatever we can do from our side, we will definitely be able to do it. Whatever the certifications that are needed, we are ready to do that. But like, you know, it again depends on like, you know, client to client and country to country. So, couple to conclude, can you give us some numbers like, what is the current capacity of Agam Robotics and what is the plan that you have for the future?

[00:39:36]>> As you see, you know, we have a humble start in 2025. It's been like, you know, one, one and a half year right now. We are slowly growing. I would say, you know, we have achieved a lot with, you know, just in one year with the breadth of components we have increased with only one autopilot flagship product to about like, you know, 10 in our SKU right now with a different verticals and horizontally. We are coming up with very, you know, good products list as well like, you know, in the near future in this year and next year. We have very good, you know, pipeline out there. I would say like, uh, companies like us have a vision to build something and I think like, you know, it's not us we doing it. This has to be supported by complete ecosystem. In India, basically, we think short term wherein like, you know, a lot of PR or like, you know, happens with, you know, the what do you call it as like, you know, social media thing. Short term like, you know, instant uh >> gratification >> gratification. So, we are not doing that. We want to put it as long term and we want to be uh it to be like, you know, delayed gratification. Build it.

[00:40:38]Showcase the self-lens and technical capabilities and how we can do it in India and just for like, you know, uh short-term thinking or short-term profits and anything. Think long term and do it.

[00:40:49]>> Very well said, uh couple. Thank you so much. It was a very insightful discussion. Thank you.

[00:40:53]>> Thank you very much.