A new report shows why several startups and hosts of researchers in North Carolina see potential for high-flying success in the drone industry. Sales of commercial drones such as those being developed by Raleigh-based PrecisionHawk are expected to skyrocket 84 percent this year.

Yes, there’s fact to support the hype.

WRAL TechWire is putting on “First in Flight: The Ups and Downs of Drone Technology” on Tuesday afternoon in Durham with PrecisionHawk CEO Bob Young delivering the keynote address. Entrepreneurs will be on hand to discuss why they have gotten into the drone game; a second panel will explore legal issues; and the event will close with demos. (Check link with this post for registration information)

The new study (“The Game of Drones”) is from Juniper Research in the U.K., and its headline is: Commercial drone sales are forecast to hit $481 million this year, a one-year surge of 84 percent from $261 million.

Juniper notes that low prices have reduced cost to a barrier of entry for companies to explore usage of drones.

“[W]ith high performance models now available for less than $3,000,” Juniper reports, “the reduction in drone price points had in turn resulted in their commercial application within an array of new fields including mapping, inspection and monitoring.”

Leading the demand is the agriculture sector. While Amazon and others are experimenting with drone delivery, agriculture business exists now.

“Juniper expects to account for 48 percent of all commercial drone sales this year,” Juniper says.

Why? UAVs, or unmanned aerial vehicles, “help save time and costs over other methods, such as walking fields on foot and using planes for fly-over filming. Furthermore, the ease of use of a UAV created for the sector allows for more regular crop surveying.”

Other uses driving up drone demand include filming for movies and TVs since they cost lest and are more flexible (safer, too?) than other filming methods.

Safety, on the other hand, is a big issue to be overcome in delivery.

“Regulators are understandably concerned that the deployment of delivery drones in inner cities would significantly increase the risk of potentially fatal collisions with cars or even pedestrians,” research co-author Windsor Holden points out.

Not to be overlooked is the threat terrorists might mount using drones. Could they hack drones operated by someone else?

Consumer sales

Drones were big Christmas gift and hobby-satisfying choices as 2015 ended. Juniper sees no end to that trend.

“Juniper Research forecasts that over time, sales of consumer drones will increase as the market expands to 16.3 million by 202,” the firm said in a whitepaper.

What are the factors driving sales?

  • Improvements in technology
  • Increasing numbers of innovative applications
  • Reductions in retail price, both through natural economies of scale, and the introduction of standardized chipset platforms;
  • Increased competition.

For more info about the report, visit:

https://www.juniperresearch.com/press/press-releases/commercial-drone-sales-to-rise-by-more-than-80?utm_source=juniperpr&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Drones_15_PR2