Thailand bets on local AI as Chinese drones dominate its skies

Drones could save Thai farmers fortunes in fertiliser and water management as a “super El Nino” withers harvests – while also mapping flood risks and safely scouring vast industrial sites, from oil rigs to solar farms, for damage.

Yet across Southeast Asia, Thailand is still heavily reliant on Chinese hardware to bring the technology into its economy, creating a price gap that prevents the benefits of drone technology from being shared equally.

Thailand is pushing hard on tech adoption to help...