Market Insights
The Inspection Drones market was estimated at US$ 9.7 Billion in 2021 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 15.9% during 2022-2028 to reach US$ ~29.1 Billion in 2028.
Drone usage and demand have surged due to the COVID-19 breakout and spread since their advantages exceed any possible drawbacks. They are being used in North America, Asia, and Africa to distribute COVID-19 vaccinations and to survey and keep an eye on the epidemic in far-flung regions of nations like China. Drones have been used by police and government officials all over the world to enforce social distance and conduct distant policing. This is true even if budget cuts and decreased tax revenues have significantly impacted many law enforcement budgets. As corporations look to technology to combat operational ineptitude, current pilot projects are expanding drone tests throughout the epidemic.
It is projected that factors like rising drone technology developments and the growing need for safe, precise inspection would propel the growth of the worldwide drone inspection market. The increased use of drones for critical infrastructure applications as a remote visual inspection tool contributes to the market's overall growth. However, the worldwide drone inspection sector is severely constrained by a dearth of qualified professionals to operate drones for inspection. Contrarily, the development of lidar technology for commercial drones is anticipated to open up the attractive business potential for the drone inspection sector.
Inspection drones automate the manual inspection process, allowing inspectors to acquire data more quickly while removing the slower manual processes of labor and extra time that put them in danger. The quickly expanding agriculture sector is driving the market since drones are helpful for inspecting crops and animals. 3D maps of the farms are made using drones. At regular intervals, these photos provide information regarding crop status, allowing for the implementation of preventative measures. Drones used for inspection are also used for disaster management and monitoring. Drones with thermal imaging capabilities provide emergency response teams the perfect way to locate casualties who are hard to see with the naked eye.
Industrial inspection drones are widely used in a variety of application areas, including security management, monitoring of forest fires, traffic, oil & gas pipelines, an inspection of solar panels, power lines, and windmills, an inspection of critical infrastructure, and inspection of roads, bridges, and power lines. On the other hand, since a few years ago, the commercial drone services market has grown in popularity and competitiveness. The market is expected to be driven by this over the projected period. The inspection drone business, nevertheless, might be hampered by operational issues, technical immaturity, and regulatory obstacles.
Several investments/guidelines in the industry have been directed in recent years, which would boost the overall market. Some of them are:
- Drones are becoming more and more likely to be used in various occupations. These flying machines quickly give comprehensive and valuable findings because of their speed and agility. Nowadays, drones with sensors and cameras are proving their value in obtaining real-time video that can be saved for later analysis. The US alone would need to invest USD 3.6 trillion on infrastructure by 2020, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers, merely to bring the nation's support systems up to par. These inspection drones are becoming equipped with the necessary technology to carry out specific duties throughout the inspection, thanks to cutting-edge technologies like machine learning and laser. This new function presents opportunities for drone makers to flourish.
Segment Analysis
Platform, infrastructure, software, and services make up the platform solution section of the inspection drone industry. Each carries out a distinct task and guarantees that drones work well in various applications. Because drones can handle data more quickly, cheaply, and accurately than traditional techniques, the services segment is predicted to dominate the drone inspection industry. Additionally, it is anticipated that the platform sector would have the most significant CAGR during the projection period.
The transmitter & receiver, flight controller, mainframe, brushless motors & ESC, transmitter & receiver, and other categories make up the worldwide inspection drone market by component. Inputs from the stick are received by the drone transmitter and sent in real-time over the air to the receiver. The inputs are passed from the receiver to the drone's flight controller, which directs the drone as necessary. As a result, drone inspection businesses utilize this chance to innovate by using drones for applications such as solar panel inspection.
The worldwide inspection drone market has been divided into fixed, rotary, and hybrid categories based on type. Rotary drones can take off and land vertically; as a result, they are used in applications that call for a line-of-sight inspection. The majority of nations throughout the world permit the operation of drones in the operator's line of sight thanks to their legislative frameworks. As a result, demand for rotating inspection drones has greatly increased. These drones are also frequently utilized for shorter battle distances and shorter fight periods. As a result, the market for drone infrastructure inspection is growing due to the increased use of rotary wing drones for commercial and industrial applications.
In terms of regions, North America will likely maintain its supremacy in the inspection drones market throughout the forecast period. The main element boosting the market in the region is the early adoption of the technology. Additionally, as it is an affordable approach to conduct inspections at heights and inaccessible regions, more businesses are embracing inspection drone technology for visual inspection.
Concurrently, Asia Pacific is expected to witness the fastest growth in the inspection drones market during the forecast period. A large CAGR is predicted for the Asia Pacific inspection drone market due to the region's growing population, infrastructural development, economic expansion, urbanization, and industrialization. Utility firms in Europe with extensive infrastructure aim to replace human inspectors with drones. This is driving drone inspection for oil and gas. Governments are also developing drone rules to allow beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone activities in the area. Manufacturers have begun using drones for inspection in the utility industry in Italy, Germany, and France.
The Middle East and Africa are a bigger market for inspection drones than South America. During the forecast period, the Middle East & Africa market is anticipated to expand at a CAGR of 18%. The best drones for house inspection applications are becoming more widely available thanks to businesses in the Middle East and Africa.
Key Players
The following are the major players in the inspection drones market:
- American Robotics, Inc.
- Acecore Technologies
- AeroVironment, Inc.
- Airobotics Ltd.,
- Intertek (UK)
- MISTRAS Group (US)
- Teledyne FLIR LLC,
- Lockheed Martin Corporation
- 3D Robotics, Inc.
- Yuneec International Co. Ltd.
- Delair
- Wipro (India)
- Intel Corporation (US)
- Northrop Grumman Corporation (US)
- SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd. (China)
- Parrot SA (France)
There is stiff competition in the inspection drones market. The growth of the companies is directly dependent on the industry conditions and government support. These companies differentiate their inspection drones based on their quality and penetration in the target and emerging markets. Also, some major mergers and acquisitions in the industry recently have significantly influenced the competitive dynamics. For example:
- In 2021, For nighttime operations, the Yuneec flagship H520, H520E, and H520E-RTK unmanned aerial vehicles were equipped with Foxfury strong light systems thanks to a partnership between YUNEEC International, ATL Americas, and FoxFury Lighting Solutions (Oceanside, CA).
- In 2020, SZ The first integrated LIDAR drone solution and a potent full-frame camera payload for aerial surveying were introduced by DJI Technology Co., Ltd. The DJI Zenmuse L1 is the company's first airborne surveying LIDAR system.
The overall competitive landscape has been affected due to these mergers and acquisitions.
Research Methodology
This report offers high-quality insights and is the outcome of detailed research methodology comprising extensive secondary research, rigorous primary interviews with industry stakeholders and validation and triangulation with Stratview Research’s internal database and statistical tools. More than 1,000 authenticated secondary sources, such as company annual reports, fact book, press release, journals, investor presentation, white papers, patents, and articles have been leveraged to gather the data. We conducted more than 10 detailed primary interviews with the market players across the value chain in all four regions and with industry experts to obtain both the qualitative and quantitative insights.
Report Features
This report provides market intelligence in the most comprehensive way. The report structure has been kept such that it offers maximum business value. It provides critical insights into the market dynamics and will enable strategic decision making for the existing market players as well as those willing to enter the market. The following are the key features of the report:
- Structure: Overview, industry life cycle and supply chain analysis
- Environment analysis: Growth drivers and constraints, Porter’s five forces and SWOT analysis
- Trend and forecast analysis
- Segment trend and forecast
- Competitive landscape and dynamics: Market share, product portfolio, product launches, etc.
- Attractive market segments and associated growth opportunities
- Emerging trends
- Strategic growth opportunities for the existing and new players
- Key success factors
