For the longest time, drones, technically unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), have been used strictly by militaries. They use them for monitoring border areas, patrolling, keeping a watch on enemy installations, tracking smuggling and other illegal activities, controlling crowds, and carrying out search and rescue operations. Moreover, governments have strictly regulated drone usage by civilians till now out of fear of them being used to send supplies to enemies and even carrying out attacks and bombing.
However, with the formulation of proper rules and guidelines for normal people to use UAVs in recent times, P&S Intelligence expects the consumer drones market to witness the massive growth in the years to come. Drones are being increasingly used for non-military purposes in agriculture & forestry, energy & utilities, construction, oil & gas, logistics & transportation, mining & quarrying, insurance, aviation, retail, government, and education sectors. Moreover, even individuals are using UAVs for photography and videography purposes.
For instance, in the agriculture & forestry sector, they are being used for soil analysis, pesticide and insecticide spraying, crop health monitoring, cattle monitoring, and drainage assessment. Similarly, in the media & entertainment sector, they are being used to broadcast live events and shoot movies and other TV shows from newer angles. Similarly, several people are using UAVs for vlogs, for uploading on YouTube and other social media websites. The construction sector utilizes these platforms for pre-construction site analysis, construction monitoring, and creating 3D models of the site under development.
Applications of drones in the oil & gas sector include pipeline and oilfield monitoring, offshore rig monitoring, spill detection and monitoring, emergency evacuation monitoring, and hazard monitoring. Moreover, in the transportation & logistics sector, drones are being used to scan the QR and RFID codes on shipping containers at container terminals and of packages at warehouses. Moreover, they are being used to inspect locomotive and wagon producing facilities and rail yards.