ryethenovel Chapter 7 New Plan
Chapter 7 New Plan
When Su Chen opened his eyes, it was already morning outside the window.
The sky in Longhua District was a grayish-blue, and the faint sound of early morning buses could be heard outside the factory buildings.
He glanced at his phone—6:40 a.m.
His physical condition was exceptionally good. Although he had worked continuously for nearly six hours in the virtual space, his body had actually experienced a whole night of deep sleep, and he had more energy than usual.
The system's "learning efficiency +20%, stamina recovery speed +20%" buffs are also taking effect.
After quickly washing up, Su Chen sent Zhou Ming a message: "Call Zhang Lei to the second-floor conference room at eight o'clock."
Then he spread out paper and pen on the small table in the lounge and began to write down the key points of the flight control firmware architecture in his mind as a technical document.
The memories formed in the virtual lab are permanent, so he doesn't need to worry about forgetting them. But turning his thoughts into written words is another matter—he needs a technical solution that Zhang Lei can understand, not the "previous life product manager + system assistance" approach in his head.
After writing for more than an hour, Su Chen put down his pen and looked at the technical proposal that had been written for twelve pages.
The core content consists of three parts:
I. Flight Controller Firmware Rewrite. A deeply customized firmware was designed for Hongyuan's existing flight controller hardware platform. Forty percent of the redundant code in the general solution was removed, the sensor data fusion algorithm was optimized, the PID control loop was redesigned, and feedforward compensation and adaptive parameter adjustment were added.
2. Hardware Fine-tuning. Without replacing the flight controller board, the existing single IMU solution is upgraded to a dual IMU redundant solution (adding a high-precision six-axis sensor), and closed-loop current control is added to the ESC to improve motor response speed.
III. Image Transmission Optimization. The existing analog image transmission solution will be replaced with a digital image transmission solution with similar cost to resolve lag and latency issues.
The total hardware cost increase from these three changes is less than 80 yuan per unit, but the improvement in product experience is a qualitative leap.
At 8:00 sharp, Zhang Lei appeared at the conference room door on time.
"Mr. Su, you wanted to see me?" He was still wearing the same Arduino T-shirt from yesterday, and looked like he hadn't slept much all night.
"Thank you for your hard work on the warehouse inventory." Su Chen gestured for him to sit down and pushed the twelve-page technical document over. "Take a look at this first."
Zhang Lei picked up the document and started flipping through it.
He read the first page quickly, only glancing at it briefly.
He slowed down on the second page.
He stopped on the third page, glanced up at Su Chen, then looked down and continued reading.
By the fifth page, his posture had clearly changed—from casually leaning back in the chair to sitting upright with his back bent forward, his hands gripping the edge of the document tightly.
It took Zhang Lei a full twenty minutes to read through all twelve pages, one by one.
Then he put down the documents, and the way he looked at Su Chen changed drastically.
"President Su...did you write this?"
"What's wrong?" Su Chen picked up his teacup and took a sip.
"It's not that there's a problem, it's..." Zhang Lei's voice trembled noticeably, "This sensor fusion scheme uses a hybrid architecture of extended Kalman filtering and complementary filtering—I've seen this approach in several top-tier papers abroad, but I've never seen anyone simplify it to the point where it can run on our low-cost flight control board."
"And there's this adaptive adjustment strategy for the PID parameters—" He turned back to page seven, pointing to a section, "This is a targeted optimization specifically for the motor and blade combination we're using, with the parameter range precisely controlled. Mr. Su, what did you do before?"
This question revealed Zhang Lei's biggest doubt.
Su Chen is only twenty-three years old this year and has just graduated from university. His identity is the son of the company's founder—a "young master" who has inherited the company.
However, the level of this technical solution is such that even a flight control engineer with ten years of experience in the industry might not be able to write it, let alone a recent graduate.
"I did some related research projects during my university years," Su Chen gave a vague but not too far-fetched answer. "Although the Department of Electronic Engineering at Shenzhen University isn't ranked top-tier, the lab conditions are quite good, and my supervisor also focused on embedded control."
This explanation was about a third convincing to Zhang Lei—after all, someone capable of writing such a solution couldn't have simply "done some research projects." But Zhang Lei wasn't the type to delve into the details; he was more concerned with the technology itself.
"President Su, if this plan can be implemented, F1's flight performance can be improved by at least 30% to 40%." Zhang Lei's speech quickened, clearly showing his excitement. "Most importantly, the hardware modifications are minimal. No need to redesign molds, no need to change production lines; just add a sensor and adjust the ESC's control logic..."
"What about the increase in costs? You do the math."
Zhang Lei quickly ran through the details in his mind: "Adding an MPU6500 six-axis sensor would cost about fifteen yuan in bulk. The closed-loop control at the ESC end requires replacing an operational amplifier, which would cost about three yuan. The digital image input entry solution is about sixty yuan more expensive than the current analog solution. Adding minor PCB modifications and soldering process adjustments... the total increase in cost per unit would be about eighty to ninety yuan."
"What about the price? What do you think the improved product should be priced at?"
Zhang Lei thought for a moment: "If the flight control performance can really be improved by more than 30%, plus digital image transmission... a price of 3499 to 3999 would be reasonable."
Su Chen nodded: "The cost increase is less than a hundred yuan, but the selling price can be raised by five hundred to a thousand yuan. More importantly—the core experience of the product sets it apart from competitors in the same price range."
"That's right." Zhang Lei nodded vigorously. "Currently, drones in the 3,000 yuan price range all use basically the same universal flight control solutions; none of them are significantly better than the others. If we can differentiate ourselves in flight control, that would be a game-changer."
Looking into Zhang Lei's bright eyes, Su Chen raised his opinion of the young man by another notch.
He has solid technical skills, quick reflexes, and a basic understanding of the market—and what's even more remarkable is that he didn't have any reservations about the plan just because he didn't write it himself, but immediately started thinking about how to implement it.
Such talent is extremely valuable in small companies.
"Then it's settled." Su Chen slammed his hand on the table. "I'll name this plan 'Project Flyer F2.' You'll be responsible for the hardware modifications—sensor selection and procurement, PCB redesign, and ESC adjustments. I'll be responsible for writing and debugging the flight controller firmware."
"What about time?"
"The initial firmware version will be available in three days, integration testing will be completed within a week, and an engineering prototype will be available within two weeks."
Zhang Lei's mouth opened slightly: "Firmware in three days? Mr. Su, the amount of code in the flight controller firmware—"
"I already have the complete architecture and core algorithm," Su Chen pointed to the file. "The rest is coding and debugging. I'll handle the core modules, and you'll be responsible for hardware adaptation and auxiliary modules."
Zhang Lei was silent for two seconds, then nodded heavily.
"Okay, I'll go prepare right away."
"Wait a minute," Su Chen called out to him. "There's something I need to make clear to you beforehand. This flight control firmware is a core technological asset of Hongyuan. The related source code and technical documents must not be leaked. I'll have Attorney Fang draft a confidentiality agreement later, and all personnel in the company who have access to the core technology must sign it."
Zhang Lei nodded, unsurprised. "Of course."
Su Chen added, "You and I are the only two core participants in Project F2. Publicly, we'll only say we're working on firmware upgrades and minor hardware improvements; don't reveal the specifics."
"clear."
Zhang Lei took the document and quickly left the conference room, his footsteps carrying an excitement that Su Chen could clearly sense.
For a 28-year-old technician who has been stuck in a small company for over a year without any room to showcase their abilities, suddenly receiving a technical solution that could change the competitive landscape of the product is more exciting than a raise.
Su Chen watched him leave, then sat back down in his chair.
The F2 program is just the first step.
Flight controller firmware optimization can transform the F1 drone, but this is merely a patch to an existing product. To truly establish a foothold in the market and survive DJI's dominance, much bigger moves are needed.
But that's a story for later.
The most pressing issue right now is money.
The company has 1.2 million yuan in its account. After deducting the compensation for returned goods, it may only have 200,000 to 300,000 yuan left. With this month's salary and rent expenses, the cash flow can only last for another month at most.
Even if the firmware for the F2 is completed in three days, it will still take at least three to four weeks from prototype testing to resuming production, distribution to channels, and receiving payment.
There is a funding gap of at least two to three weeks in between.
How do we fill this hole?
Su Chen rubbed his temples.
Fundraising? There's no time to prepare, and given Hongyuan's current state, no investor would be interested.
Bank loan? For a small, loss-making company with no collateral, the normal process would take at least one or two months.
Sell the house? The three-bedroom apartment in Longhua is worth two or three million yuan, but the transfer process takes time, and he doesn't want to sell the property left by his father at this time—Shenzhen's housing prices in 2016 were on the eve of takeoff, and if he sold it, he would never be able to buy it back.
"What other options are there..." Su Chen was thinking when his phone rang.
It was Zhou Ming calling.
"Mr. Su, there's something I need to discuss with you."
"explain."
"This morning, the company received a business letter from a company called 'Tianying Technology,' saying they would like to arrange a meeting with you."
Su Chen's brow twitched slightly.
Tianying Technology.
He remembered this name from his past life.