Well-Defined Regulations, Increasing Commercial Use Will Help Drive Growth

According to recently published report by TechSci Research titled "Global Commercial Drone Market By Drone Type (Rotary Blade Drone, Fix Wing Drone, Hybrid Drone & Nano Drone), By Application (Mapping, Surveying & Photography, Precision Agriculture, etc.), By Region, Competition Forecast & Opportunities, 2015 - 2021" - U.S. has been reported as the largest market for commercial drones in North America. The country accounted for a value share of 75% in North America commercial drone market in 2015.

A well-defined regulatory framework coupled with increasing adoption of drones in commercial applications are projected to drive the U.S. market for commercial drones at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 25.11% during 2016-2021.

In 2015, about 45 states in the U.S. considered 168 bills pertaining to drones and 26 pieces of regulations have been passed by 20 states including Arkansas, California, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Maryland, Mississippi, Nevada, North Carolina, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oregon, Texas, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia. Apart from these states, other five states that have adopted regulations pertaining to drones in the U.S. include Georgia, New Mexico, Alaska, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania.

In the U.S., various petitions are being filed by businesses to acquire exemptions for use of commercial drones under section 333. The U.S. has been utilizing drones for commercial applications across various industries. Photography and mapping in addition to precision agriculture, oil and gas inspection, mining inspection, construction, media and journalism are few of major applications of drones.

The report further highlights commercial drones market not just at a global level but the data has been bifurcated by country level for almost 10 countries. Growth in the global commercial drone market is being underpinned by a supportive policy and regulatory framework and rapid technological advancements. The dynamics in the global commercial drone market vary across different countries, depending on the support provided by underlying regulations and policies in those countries.

"Backed by amendments in the policy and regulatory framework by regulatory authorities, and increasing utilization of drones across applications such as photography and mapping, precision agriculture, inspection and monitoring in oil & gas sector, and mining is projected to fuel growth in the global commercial drone market during 2016-2021. Drone are able to obtain real-time data and therefore are being increasingly used for identification of potential hazards, mapping, photography, inspections, etc. Integration of drones for such activities is proving to be cost-effective and efficient" said Mr. Karan Chechi, Research Director with TechSci Research, a global market research firm.

Commercial drones are classified into four broad categories - fixed wing, rotary blade, nano and hybrid drones. As of 2015, rotary blade drone segment dominated global commercial drone market followed by fixed wing and hybrid drones which are anticipated to be commercialized on a sizeable scale in 2017. However, various companies have been working on hybrid drone prototypes as of 2015, which offer better endurance and high payload capacity.

Nano drones are also being widely used by the defense industry for inspection purpose. However, commercial utilization of nano drones is anticipated to commence in late 2016.

(Source: TechSci Research news release. Images from file)

FMI: www.techsciresearch.com