In an interview with TimesTech, Ezhilan Nanmaran, Head of Product at ideaForge Technology Limited, shared how indigenous UAV innovations like the Q6 V2 GEO and SHODHAM LiDAR are transforming glacier research and disaster mitigation in the Himalayas. Highlighting India’s strides in autonomy, precision, and endurance, he discussed ideaForge’s role in advancing Aatmanirbhar Bharat, driving global expansion, and positioning India as a leader in UAV and autonomous-flight technologies.
Read the full interview here:
TimesTech: How will this innovation transform the way we study and mitigate glacier-related risks such as GLOFs, avalanches, and slope instability in the Himalayan region?
Ezhilan: ideaForge’s Q6 V2 GEO and SHODHAM LiDAR payload are redefining how India studies and mitigates glacier risks in the Himalayas. Built for extreme endurance and precision, the Q6 V2 GEO is an all-terrain UAV designed to perform from −20 °C to +50 °C, with dust- and drizzle-resistant resilience. This enables researchers and disaster-management agencies to explore some of the world’s toughest terrains with accuracy and safety. With over 50 minutes of flight time and a sub-7 kg build, the Q6 V2 GEO can map vast glacial stretches in a single mission. Its LiDAR and photogrammetry payloads capture fine topographic details, allowing early detection of slope movement, moraine stress, and avalanche triggers. The system’s survey-grade precision (≤ 10 cm horizontal / ≤ 20 cm vertical) ensures reliable data for early-warning and mitigation models.
Validated through recent high-altitude missions, the SHODHAM LiDAR payload enhances these capabilities. Deployed from 3,100 m AMSL at −4 °C to 10 °C, it achieved 48 minutes of endurance while mapping 3 km of terrain and 600 m of elevation gain. It produced centimetre-level Digital Elevation Models revealing crevasses, ridges, and deformation zones missed by conventional optical methods. Repeat LiDAR surveys now help quantify glacier-mass changes and identify thinning or thickening zones critical for anticipating GLOFs and avalanche risks.
With terrain-adaptive autonomy and a tightly coupled IMU maintaining altitude over complex topography, SHODHAM delivers colorized point-cloud data that validate satellite datasets such as SRTM and TanDEM-X. Together, the Q6 V2 GEO and SHODHAM payload exemplify how Make-in-India UAV systems are empowering climate researchers with reliable, actionable insights—transforming glaciology and early-warning efforts in the Himalayan region.
TimesTech: Could you elaborate on the core technologies and design philosophies that give the Q6V2 Geo its superior precision, reliability, and adaptability in challenging environments?
Ezhilan: The Q6 V2 GEO is built on ideaForge’s engineering philosophy of modularity, autonomy, and mission reliability, enabling it to “Map Where Others Can’t.” Designed and manufactured in India, it combines field-proven endurance with the precision needed for survey-grade applications in some of the world’s toughest environments.
At its core lies ideaForge’s proprietary autopilot, developed and refined in-house over 18 years of UAV innovation. This system powers fully autonomous VTOL operations, terrain-adaptive flight, and intelligent obstacle avoidance, ensuring stable, safe, and repeatable missions even in thin air and turbulent conditions. The Q6 V2 GEO also integrates advanced positioning systems such as PPK and CORS, enabling centimetre-level accuracy (≤ 10 cm horizontal / ≤ 20 cm vertical) that meets global survey standards.
Its Airborne Data Relay (ADR) Mapping capability extends line-of-sight communications, empowering cross-valley missions, allowing mapping UAVs to maintain precise terrain following and execute below-launch-elevation missions (negative altitude) for continuous data capture.
Reliability is engineered into every layer, from its IP-rated construction and redundant safety logic to encrypted data links and an intelligent power system featuring hot-swappable batteries and active thermal management. The aircraft’s aerodynamic design and balanced weight distribution deliver optimal stability for high-precision mapping, while the BlueFire Touch interface simplifies mission planning and live monitoring, giving operators full situational awareness in real time. In essence, the Q6 V2 GEO reflects a deep commitment to dependable, high-performance UAVs that thrive where others falter, enabling precise, repeatable mapping and monitoring across the most challenging terrains.
TimesTech: What differentiates the Q6 V2 GEO from conventional mapping drones in portability, endurance, and efficiency?
Ezhilan: The Q6 V2 GEO brings together the ruggedness of field gear and the intelligence of enterprise software. It’s not just built for precision; it’s built for performance in the toughest environments. Designed to meet stringent DGCA compliance standards, the platform reflects ideaForge’s ongoing commitment to flight safety, reliability, and operational transparency, benchmarks that few survey drones in its class can match.
Despite its advanced capabilities, the Q6 V2 GEO remains remarkably portable. It’s a sub-7 kg system that can be packed into two waterproof backpacks and made mission-ready in under 10 minutes. This agility allows teams to mobilize quickly in remote zones — from glaciers to high-altitude passes — reducing both manpower and time. In terms of endurance, it flies for over 50 minutes on a single charge while maintaining stable performance across temperatures ranging from −20 °C to +50 °C. That resilience makes it ideal for extended operations in extreme weather conditions.
What completes the ecosystem is the integration with Flyght Cloud, which bridges the gap between data capture and analysis. Instead of waiting hours or days for results, users can visualize and interpret insights almost instantly. Having already logged over 2,000 successful missions across terrains ranging from glacial regions to coastal infrastructure, the Q6 V2 GEO has proven itself as one of the most efficient, adaptable, and dependable mapping platforms in its class.
TimesTech: How is ideaForge enabling cross-sector adoption of UAVs, and what new domains do you foresee emerging?
Ezhilan: Our goal has always been to make drones platforms, not products. The Q6 V2 GEO’s modular architecture allows one system to solve problems across industries—mining, utilities, agriculture, forestry, urban planning, and disaster response.
In mining, it supports volumetric assessments and compliance mapping; in utilities, it enables asset inspection and vegetation monitoring; and in agriculture, it aids precision crop and biomass analysis. It has also been used in archaeological documentation, smart-city planning, and long-range environmental observation. Looking ahead, we see the next wave of UAV adoption accelerating in three emerging domains:
- Autonomous industrial operations for continuous asset monitoring,
- Environmental intelligence for ecosystem and climate-adaptation programs, and integrated emergency response for real-time disaster coordination.
By combining hardware, payloads, cloud processing, and service support, ideaForge delivers complete mission solutions, turning customers into long-term partners.
TimesTech: What strategic choices have helped ideaForge maintain leadership in India and globally?
Ezhilan: ideaForge’s position – ranked #3 globally among dual-use (civil + defense) drone manufacturers and holding over 90 percent of India’s defense UAV market, stems from three enduring principles:
- Sovereign Technology Mastery – We’ve developed our entire stack in-house, from autopilot to cloud, ensuring customization, data security, and technological independence.
- Mission-Critical Focus – Our drones are built for defense, homeland security, and enterprise operations where reliability is non-negotiable; they’re field-proven across terrains from Ladakh to Mumbai.
- Patient Capital & Deep Innovation – We built for depth before scale, bootstrapping for years to achieve product-market fit. Our 2023 IPO (oversubscribed 106 times, 94 percent listing gains) validated this approach and investor trust.
Today, as we extend our footprint globally, through our U.S. operations and First Forge, our joint venture with First Breach—we’re focused on building for the world while safeguarding our IP, strengthening our partnerships, and staying true to our founding principles of innovation and integrity.
TimesTech: How does your focus on indigenous R&D and IP creation shape India’s drone-technology landscape and Aatmanirbhar Bharat?
Ezhilan: ideaForge was founded on the belief that India must own its critical technologies. Every layer of our drones—from flight control systems to data encryption, is developed in-house, providing the country with technological sovereignty and reducing dependence on foreign solutions.
We actively collaborate with government bodies, contributing to initiatives such as the UTM Committee and Drone AI Task Force, helping shape regulatory frameworks that promote indigenous innovation. This ecosystem-driven approach has encouraged component suppliers and startups, demonstrating that high-tech manufacturing can thrive in India.
Our #3 global ranking and expansion into the U.S. market showcase that Indian deep-tech can compete at the highest international standards. By building secure, sovereign, and responsible technologies, we strengthen Aatmanirbhar Bharat while simultaneously contributing to the global innovation ecosystem.
TimesTech: What are your next priorities for global expansion, technology development, and partnerships?
Ezhilan: Our next chapter focuses on global growth, advanced autonomy, and strategic collaboration.
We have established U.S. operations and launched First Forge, a 50:50 joint venture with First Breach Inc., to localize licensing, design, manufacturing, and distribution for select platforms in the United States. The collaboration combines ideaForge’s UAV engineering expertise with First Breach’s defence-grade manufacturing capabilities, strengthening compliance and supply-chain resilience as we scale internationally. We are also evaluating opportunities in Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia, where demand for secure, non-Chinese UAVs continues to grow.
On the technology front, we are deepening investments in:
- AI-driven autonomy and multi-sensor fusion,
- Extended-endurance systems, and Specialized payloads such as the AI-enabled SHODHAM M61, introduced at PRAGYA 2025.
Our recent $35 million, five-year partnership with Skylark Labs is focused on building the world’s largest AI-powered drone ecosystem, integrating edge-AI capabilities for real-time detection, tracking, and recognition across our deployed fleet. This collaboration enhances situational awareness, accelerates decision-making, and demonstrates the scale at which Indian technology can operate globally.
Together, these initiatives reinforce our vision to position India not only as a world-class drone manufacturer but also as a global hub for autonomous-flight innovation and trusted technology partnerships.
