That is also the reason why we went to the "headquarters" of Realtime Robotics Inc VN (RtR) to meet the "father" of the Hera drones, Dr. Luong Viet Quoc. The factory with 60 engineers, all Vietnamese, is busy with work from design, manufacturing, software writing, production and product testing to prepare for delivery... "We are building a new facility in the High-Tech Park, it will be completed next year", Dr. Quoc in jeans and a faded T-shirt said when he took us on a tour of the Hera drone production site.
Hera on RMUS distribution channel
* Drones are a high-tech product and have been popular for about 10 years. So the information that Vietnamese people produce and export drones to the US market... is a great source of pride, but we are sorry, we would like you to confirm this information?
Dr. Luong Viet Quoc : This is absolutely true. Currently, we are also working and preparing to sign a contract to export Hera to Israel. When this contract is successful, it will be a huge milestone for the Vietnamese drone industry because Israel is a leading country in technology, especially drones. The contract is in the final stage.
Dr. Quoc introduces Hera to Thanh Nien reporter
* Suppose I make a product and I have friends in the US, they buy my product and bring it back to the US, I can also boast that my product has been successfully exported to the US. Or many businesses export products but only for Vietnamese and Asian people in the US. Could you please tell me who RtR's customers are in the US, how many units have they bought, and for what value?
First, I have to thank you for your question, it is very good and close to the essence of the problem. The first batch of products I signed a contract with the Americans was 10 products (systems) worth half a million USD in 2022. Second, I also agree with your way of putting the problem that if it is only sold to friends and acquaintances, then that product has no real value. A valuable product must be decided on a transparent market.
The partner who ordered Hera is RMUS - a professional drone distributor in the US. They have been operating for more than 10 years and distribute drones all over the world. Here, I have to clarify another important detail. For a drone distributor, there are two cases. First, if your drone is "OK" - okay, you can consign it to them to sell. If it is sold, they will take a commission depending on the agreement. Second, they see that your product is good enough, they will buy it outright to distribute. Hera is an exception, they deposited money for us to produce. Last year, they signed a contract for 10 units. In early 2023, they received 3 units for demonstration flights to market to customers. In early July, they received real commercial products to deliver to customers. Currently, they have transferred 75% of the progress money. On RMUS's website, they offer a starting price of 58,000 USD.
Dr. Quoc took a photo with the US Deputy Secretary of Defense.
* Do you track RMUS sales progress?
The drone I will deliver next July will be delivered to Valmont Industries, a company that owns part of the US power grid. Their value on the New York Stock Exchange is over $6 billion.
* What do they use Hera for?
They use it to periodically inspect high-voltage power lines to ensure safety, which is mandatory. Before drones, they had to walk and use binoculars. Thanks to drones, this is much faster and more efficient. Up to now, in the world, a drone can only carry one load (camera). While inspecting the power grid, there are up to 4 criteria and it is necessary to use 4 different types of specialized cameras, some of which are very heavy.
So with drones other than Hera, they have to fly 4 times and add the time to change equipment. Hera only needs to fly once to collect 4 types of data. But if we understand by common logic that Hera works 4 times more efficiently than other drones, it is not accurate. You have to imagine in the field, after flying once, the weather conditions may change, for example, rain, then the working session ends, the work is unfinished.
Hera has an absolute competitive advantage in the electricity industry. That is also the reason why in the working email, the electricity company said that this year they need up to 1,700 drones.
Introducing Hera Can Gio electricity test
* If Hera works much more efficiently, customers and you will also reduce the number of drones you need to buy. Is its creator worried about losing revenue?
( Laughs ) The electricity industry all over the world needs an effective grid monitoring device, not just one unit. Even though the market is so huge, electricity is only a very small area for drones to serve. It has many wide applications in many other areas.
* Is there any unit in Vietnam that knows and uses your product?
Our first domestic customer is the Fire Prevention, Fire Fighting and Rescue Police Department (Ministry of Public Security). Last week we completed a training course on using Hera. This is also an area where drones play an important role and Hera will be a very useful tool due to its outstanding competitive advantage.
* What brought you to the drone manufacturing industry?
8 years ago, realizing that drones have many practical applications, I decided to start a business in the drone service sector in Vietnam. During that process, all the drones I bought did not work as expected and some drones only achieved 30-40% efficiency compared to what the manufacturer introduced. Some were too heavy or bulky, difficult to assemble, operate, had weak batteries... many problems. I had to start adjusting and repairing everything. From then on, I thought about producing drones according to my wishes and actual needs.
So I started researching, reading all the documents about drones to know what the world is doing and what I can do in this field. Drones are like commercial aircraft. It is an ecosystem in which each business, each company in the world only makes one part. Also stemming from the need to make one to my liking, I started to research deeply into design to make something better than the best on the market. Because it is new, I have to manufacture, produce and now I do 100%. By the 6th year, the first drone was born. Its features are equivalent to other drones of the same time in the world.
* And why Hera?
Actually, the first one I named was Vian, which in English means full of life. I have a 12-year-old daughter whose English name is Vivian, or Vian for short. If we call her in Vietnamese, she is Vi An, which means the little peace of her father. And Hera is the name of a goddess in Greek mythology, she plays many roles, one of which is Ghost of the sky - Goddess of the sky.
* During the 8 years you've been in this completely new field, have you ever encountered difficulties to the point of wanting to give up?
I believe that 99% of “startups” - entrepreneurs have faced such moments many times. When people think that starting a business with A is often successful (having a commercial product), it is not A but sometimes D, E or F. It takes many transformations to succeed. And investing and R&D (research and development) is like a gamble because no one is sure that what they are looking for will come out, there are also cases where what they are looking for has not been found yet, someone else has already found it, or when they have found it, the market has no demand. Many variables push a startup to the brink and decide life or death. There are many cases where they lose their last coin without finding anything.
* So what makes you believe that you can make a drone that is better than the world?
I believe in the intellectual talent of Vietnamese people and Vietnam's ability to compete with the world. The entire engineering team here is Vietnamese, trained domestically and together we create drones that are superior to the world. Obviously, if we focus highly, Vietnamese people will not be inferior to any nation, even in the field of new technology. Regarding competitiveness, I want to emphasize the cost aspect. If I founded this startup in the US, the amount of money I would have to spend to do what I need to do would be at least 15 - 20 times more.
Personally, I really like the saying “even the best can be better”. When you make something better than the best, it has value and can compete with the world. I can be confident because I have “real combat” with many drones, accumulated a lot of knowledge as well as experienced a difficult childhood to believe that any difficulty can be overcome.
A difficult childhood, is that the motivation to have today, sir?
That's right. When I was 12 or 13 years old, my family was very poor, sometimes going hungry for 1 or 2 days was a common thing. Sometimes after school, I would throw away the book and go pick up trash, collect scrap metal to sell for money to exchange for some rice to cook porridge. As for the house, we called it that, but in reality it was a dilapidated shack. On rainy nights, I had to find a conical hat, a basin to cover my head, and stay up waiting for the morning. We were so poor that at that time, my biggest dream was to become a boss who would let me eat as much as I wanted, without needing a salary.
So I realize that learning is the only way to change my life. Learn. Learn and learn. I have to learn by myself for life - it is also an interesting journey because it helps me open many doors, it makes my life richer. For example, when I was 26 years old, I quit my job to start learning English again. Learning English helped me change a part of my personality - to be more persistent, because I had no talent. Then I applied for a Fulbright scholarship to study economics in the US. Then I continued to try to get high scores and applied for a PhD scholarship. Or all the knowledge about drones is self-taught and accumulated by me. Learning and stepping out into the world also helps us have a better vision.
* So what will be the vision of Hera and RtR Company in the next 5 - 10 years?
Hera is now very different from a year ago. I believe that with the criteria and aspiration to do better than the best, RtR will have many more new inventions. Here we are constantly innovating and always want to be the most innovative company in the industry.
Another criterion and core value that RtR aims for is to be the most trustworthy drone business. Trustworthy in the sense that we must do what we say, especially ensuring data security. I want to emphasize this point because it helps the world distinguish Vietnamese products from cheap products from neighboring countries.
Dr. Quoc introduces Hera to the US defense chief.
* On its website, RtR Company introduces itself as an American business, while we are proud of a 100% Vietnamese product. What do you explain about this?
I created two entities, one in Vietnam and one in the US. The US company is for market access. The Vietnamese company is for research, design, manufacturing and production. Both are owned by me, a Vietnamese. So you can be completely assured that this is a 100% Vietnamese product. The manufacturing facility here, as you can see, is also staffed entirely by Vietnamese engineers.
The story of Hera and RtR proves an important thing to the world: Vietnamese people have enough intellectual capacity to invent, design and manufacture products that are not only the best but also superior to the world - especially in new technology fields such as drones. On the other hand, it also inspires many other Vietnamese people to confidently follow the path of creativity. If we choose to follow the path of invention, Vietnamese people have the ability to succeed. This is also the only path for a country to change from a developing country to a developed country. The reason why Samsung TVs beat Japanese TVs is because Samsung invented the liquid crystal display. If we just copy, we cannot rise to the top of the world. That is the path that Korea is taking. China is also taking this path, they also have a number of technology products that have risen to the top of the world.
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