1. TECHNOLOGY ENTREPRENEURSHIP COURSE
OPPORTUNITY ANALYSIS PHASE I
Innovative Aeronautics Team
November 2012

2. Opportunity Analysis Structure
• Our initial Opportunity Analysis will be presented
given the following structure:
– Brief Venture Idea Presentation
– Market Analysis
– Client Interviews & Feedback
– Modified Prototype of the Product
– Marketing Strategy
– Competition and Risk Analysis

3. Brief Business Description (1)
• This new business venture will focus on deploying
smart UAVs for civil applications
• Our focus is on applications of the Energy Sector
and in particular:
– Gas & Oil Industries
– Power Grid Companies
• The main activities will include but will be not
limited to:
– Power lines Inspections
– Gas & Oil pipelines imaging and monitoring

4. Brief Business Description (2)
• Our goal is to :
– Execute missions according to customer
specifications utilizing company-owned UAVs and
personnel necessary for mission deployment, data
acquisition and processing
– Provide company-owned UAVs according to
customer specifications with/without the support
personnel necessary for mission deployment, data
acquisition and processing

5. Market Analysis (1)
• Civil UAVs are:
– Autonomous, fully operational unmanned aerial vehicles used
for civilian uses
– The most dynamically growing sector of the aerospace and
defense industry
– An exceptional chance for a business venture with outstanding
profitability prospects
• Key advantages:
– Vastly reduced costs
– Enhanced operational capabilities
– Safety of personnel & public
– Environmentally friendly vehicles

6. Market Analysis (2)
• Teal Group Market Research*
– For years 2009-2019. world procurement raising from 4.4 $ bn
annually to 8.7 $ bn
– For years 2009-2019. total expenditure >62 $ bn
* UAV Market Research, 2009
"A civil market for UAVs is
beginning to emerge over the
next decade, starting first
with governmental
organizations"
World UAV Forecast, Teal
Group, 2010

7. Market Analysis (3)
(Units, Air Vehicles) 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Total
Mini-UAVs 2,432 2,532 1,845 1705 2,950 2,837 2,612 3,308 3,811 3,761 27,793
Tactical UAVs 180 258 241 213 310 364 479 435 459 497 3,436
Naval VTUAVs 10 22 16 19 37 56 76 80 74 56 446
MALE UAVs 95 51 59 63 84 76 70 84 76 63 721
HALE UAVs 7 11 6 11 14 15 16 18 20 18 136
UCAVs 1 4 1 — — 6 5 12 16 15 60
Civil UAVs 237 228 278 260 253 278 306 327 333 398 2,898
Total 2,962 3,106 2,446 2,271 3,648 3,632 3,564 4,264 4,789 4,748 35,430
(Value, $ Millions) 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Total
Mini-UAVs 96.4 126.9 118.6 185.2 211.8 215.1 230.1 286.2 287.3 286.2 2,043.6
Tactical UAVs 772.0 1,164.5 955.0 627.5 782.5 720.5 536.0 367.0 374.5 510.0 6,809.5
Navy VTUAVs 55.0 158.0 114.0 158.0 298.5 528.0 564.0 595.5 560.5 417.5 3,449.0
MALE UAVs 973.0 1,423.0 1,207.0 1,058.0 1,212.0 1,188.0 1,030.0 1,292.0 1,337.0 1,215.0 11,935.0
HALE UAVs 830.0 810.0 995.0 1,195.0 1,225.0 1,185.0 1,210.0 1,060.0 1,060.0 1,060.0 10,630.0
UCAVs 15.0 150.0 85.0 100.0 125.0 545.0 675.0 1,445.0 1,685.0 1,475.0 6,300.0
Civil UAVs 156.0 180.0 301.8 305.3 361.0 525.3 485.5 440.5 447.3 588.3 3,790.8
Total 2,897.4 3,947.4 3,776.4 3,629.0 4,215.8 4,906.9 4,730.6 5,486.2 5,751.5 5,551.9 44,892.9
Source: Teal Group UAV Market Research 2010

8. Potential Client Interviews (1)
• Our business venture idea is focusing on providing
B2B UAV services for the energy sector.
• In B2B UAV services for the energy sector, the
number of potential clients is relatively limited and
the large number of interviews does not apply in our
case.
• We had interviews with key potential clients located
in Greece:
– Hellenic Electricity Transmission System Operator
S.A.
– DEPA (Greek Natural Gas Monopoly)
– Hellenic Petroleum
– Public Power Corporation of Greece (biggest greek
electric power company)

9. Potential Client Interviews (2)
• Key questions to potential clients where divided
into technical and non-technical
– Technical questions tried to specify the special needs
of each energy industry for UAV services
– Non-technical questions included among others:
• Would you invest on UAV solutions for your needs?
• If yes, what are your costs for your current
solutions?
• Could you make a gross estimation for what you
would be willing to pay for each service?
• What suggestions would make you more attracted
to our services?

10. Potential Client Interviews (3)
• Non-technical questions (continued):
– What suggestions would make you more attracted to our services?
– If you do not want to buy our services can you describe us the
reasons?
– Give any other comments you want for our services
• Results
– The result of the interviews were very encouraging since
they clarified:
• The interest for UAV solution to various fields from energy
industries; provided offering lower cost on the midterm
• The exact application fields & technical aspects where industries
are willing to apply UAV solutions
• How our business prototype should be modified technically in
order to fit the needs of the energy sector

11. Interview Feedback (1)
• Application Fields suggested by Oil & Gas
companies:
– Detection of gas emission escapes/oil leakages from
the pipelines
– Monitoring of construction & excavation works, laying
of cables etc
– Monitoring of repairing activities, assembling
machinery, laying drainage cables
– Discoloring of vegetation above pipelines
– Monitoring of temporary deposition of materials and
agricultural products around the pipelines

12. Interview Feedback (2)
• Application Fields suggested by power grid
companies:
– Daily & Emergency failure inspection
– Power engineering dynamic monitoring & visual
tracking of designated features (powerlines, poles,
etc)
– Thermographic inspection of electrical connections in
the grid
– Identification of pylon and insulator corrosion, arcing
and hot spots

13. Interview Feedback (3)
• The main reasons energy sector companies would
be interested in using UAVs for their activities
included:
– Minimization of human factor (lower labor costs)
– Minimization of accident risks
– Easy access to remote and dangerous areas
– Fast response and diagnosis of critical conditions
– Lower maintenance and monitoring cost on the
midterm. The latter is one of the main criterion the
companies suggested in order to invest to UAV
solutions.

14. Product Prototype (1)
• Based on the feedback from the interviews we
realized that one the main problems when using
inspection vehicles is the duration of its power
supply.
• The longer the craft can stay operational the
more lines/pipelines can be inspected. Current
battery technology does not permit long
durations of flight for small electrically driven
UAVs

15. Product Prototype (2)
• To solve this problem we thought of a novel solution
that derives added value through the combination of
the advantages of two established types of UAVs:
– autonomous blimps
– quadrocopters which can be refueled on air by the blimps
• We propose an air-to-air refuelling system which
addresses the main shortcomings of both as well,
thus resulting in a holistic approach and efficient
solution for most types of energy UAV applications.
• In advance provides high autonomy and mission
range with lower cost.

16. Product Prototype (3)
• Blimps advantages
– increased payload and range
– quiet and obstructive (for the public) operation
– stationary surveillance capability
– low cost to manufacture and maintain
• Quadrocopters advantages
– exceptional agility
– small size thus micro-level surveillance capability
– very low cost to manufacture and maintain

17. Product Prototype (4)
• The proposed scheme foresees the deployment of an
autonomous blimp, equipped with mission-specific sensors
(ranging from conventional cameras to IR and LiDARs) which
also operates as a flying carrier and refueling station for
small quadrocopters.
• In that manner, aerial surveillance in macro- and micro-level
can be attained simultaneously, thus optimally satisfying the
requirements for most energy missions.
• Effectively all aerial surveillance applications (3d mapping,
predictive maintenance for energy grids, corridor mapping,
public safety, remorse sensing, etc, necessary for the
application fields) can be executed in a most efficient
manner.

18. Marketing Strategy
• Based on our interview with the energy industries we
realized that the best marketing approaches to make our
services attractive would be by using the following
promotion channels:
– Aerospace Fairs
– Direct Marketing on the basis of existing references
– Specialized media
– Academic Conferences – Journals to present our
technical aproach

19. Competition and Risk Analysis (1)
• Main risks/advancements:
– Very low probability of shift in political conditions
regarding UAV perception (e.g. legal frame that will allow
air-traffic blend-in for fully autonomous UAVs already
elaborated)
– Low probability of economical conditions affecting the
emerging UAV market (massive cost reduction!)
– Very low probability of social disapproval for civil UAV
technologies (significant advances in public
benefit, advances in personnel safety, environmentally
friendly technology, positive image)
– Very low probability of technology advances rendering
UAV uses obsolete (instead, help to establish autonomous
technologies in civil applications)

20. Competition and Risk Analysis (2)
• Prospective Competitors
– Specialized UAV companies: technical deficiencies,
lack of development, inferior starting point
– Big aerospace manufacturers: over-occupied with
existing markets, focus on military applications for
UAVs
• Currently, only a very limited number of small
companies are focusing on UAV solution for the energy
sector.
• Our strongest advantage is the high autonomy provided
by our air-to-air refuelling system

21. Next Steps
• For the second phase of the Market Opportunity
research we plan to:
– Continue interviews with potential clients from other
countries
– Make a gross estimation for the costs of our venture
idea
– Make a comparison of the potential economic benefit
when introducing UAV services in energy sector
activities and for each specific application task