Drones will soon be performing varied tasks such as boosting crop yields, verifying insurance claims, and assisting in future Hollywood blockbusters
The global market for commercial applications of drone technology, currently estimated at about $2 billion, will boom to as much as $127 billion by 2020, according to a new report published by PwC.
Drones will soon be boosting crop yields, verifying insurance claims, and assisting in future Hollywood blockbusters in a business that’s due to boom by more than 6,000 percent by the end of the decade.
The new study by PwC on the commercial applications of drone technology, the emerging global market for business services using drones is valued at over $127 billion.
“We are currently in discussion with several major companies from a wide range of industries about how they can use drones to improve their business processes. This got us thinking about the potential value of the global drone-powered solutions market. With an estimated market value of over $127 bn in commercial applications, drones are making the transition from novelty item to indispensable business tool” said Michal Mazur, partner and head of Drone Powered Solutions at PwC.
Drone technology could soon become part of our everyday lives, monitoring problems with crumbling infrastructure such as cracks in tarmac, bridges and houses and even repairing them as part of $45.2 billion of infrastructure work currently done by humans.
“Providing products such as frozen food, ready-to-eat dishes or even daily groceries from large chains may become be the next big thing in the food and restaurant industries,” analysts at PwC said.
Drones will be able to perform most tasks at height, reducing the risk of death and injury and increasing efficiency.
The transport industry may also be revolutionized by drones starting to provide “last mile services,” as already seen in tests in Switzerland, where flying vehicles have replaced postal carriers in tough-to-reach mountain regions. Drone-based applications are also helping the movie industry generate special effects and they can be used for marketing and photography and movies, the report said.
Poland was the world’s first country to draft legislation regarding the commercial use of drones, including required training for pilots, rules for BVLOS (beyond visible line of sight) flights and insurance regulations, followed by South Africa and Singapore, PwC said. The consultancy is setting up a team of as many as 40 people in Warsaw focused on the use of drone technology and data analytics in business.