Issue link: https://te.mouser.com/i/1416839
PAGE 4 PAGE 4 KEY DRIVERS OF GROWTH ACCELERATION IN THE COMMERCIAL DRONE MARKET / TREND PAPER Key Drivers of Growth Acceleration in the Commercial Drone Market acquiring two drone companies. Sony participated in a joint venture to develop its drone for use in commercial services. Amazon and Google Wing separately have been working to make the drone delivery market a reality, developing prototypes and working to establish the techniques of enabling drone deliveries on a commercial basis. Communication companies are interested in providing the infrastructure needed to operate large fleets of commercial drones, as well as using drones for their business purposes. For example, Verizon acquired a drone startup, and AT&T has been using drones since 2016 to inspect cell towers for damage, test the performance of its wireless network and detect cell tower interference. This is just a sample of the significant investment that technology giants and venture capitalists are contributing to drive rapid progress and technological advancement in drones. Recent advancements in electronics such as cameras, mobile hardware, processors, microcontrollers, and advanced computing are modernizing the drone product portfolio. Potential applications across commercial sectors are widening due to the development of inbuilt measurement tools; annotation tools for calculating distance, volume, and area; and innovation in data processing and mapping (e.g. automatic ground control points (GCP) used for geo-referencing areas). Access to Airspace and Global Regulations As drones become more useful across sectors, and especially as demand in the commercial market keeps increasing, we're seeing government agencies worldwide re-examine regulations for UAVs in airspace, which can help further accelerate growth in the market. • United States – In the U.S., current criteria restrict small UAS from undertaking commercial operations, though some operators can request waivers. The FAA announced new rules at the end of December 2020 and is working toward granting greater flexibility in opening airspace to small and large systems, with work being done to provide waivers beyond these regulations and develop a body of expertise to open national airspace to UAS. This approach involves various certifications and regulations and is a work in progress. • Europe – A lack of rules has hindered companies seeking to invest and develop business cases to address the European commercial market; therefore, a common European Union regulation was introduced in January 2021. The new European regulation establishes three categories based on risk—open, specific and certified. The goal is to enable the creation of a single European market in which pilots and equipment can move freely across member states to perform work rather than being forced to deal with varied national regulations. • Asia – With sympathetic government regulations in China and even subsidies in agriculture, Chinese companies are building leading positions in agricultural UAS and delivery. In Japan, leadership is seeking to be flexible with regulations to continue to promote drone development in other areas. They see drones as part of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and promise to push for rapid development. Singapore is making its mark by providing strong support to the development of UAS applications in the city state, promoting the integration of beyond visual line-of-sight (BVLOS) in Singapore's urban environment. Regulations for commercial drones require a drone pilot license as well as an operator permit and activity permit, regardless of the drone's weight. • Australia – Considered one of the most advanced countries in the world when it comes to airspace access, Australia's Civil Aviation Authority last year approved 1,940 operators' certificates by June 2020, compared to 1,600 in the previous year. Development of the UAS Service Industry The commercial UAS services industry worldwide is growing at an explosive rate. New cloud-based data analysis firms help lower the barriers to entry for both service companies and end-users (e.g. farmers) by helping with data collection and providing rapid analysis of the data collected based on certain algorithms. In the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Australia and elsewhere, most of the approved operators for commercial UAS are seeking to provide services to UAS users. The services industry promises to grow for government UAS as well. Some organizations (including the U.N. and U.S. State Department) have surveillance or survey needs that might be met by UAS, but they may prefer to contract out to avoid the costs and legal restrictions. There are drone companies with years of experience providing UAS services to military customers in Afghanistan, Iraq and around the world. Other Factors Driving Market Growth Miniaturization – As demand for more commercial applications increases, the miniaturization of computing power will become more important to enable a greater array of sensors—multispectral, radar, sonar, LIDAR and atmospheric detection— and other advanced technology in designs for drones two pounds and under. Awareness – Public awareness of drone capabilities, especially in the age of the pandemic, is helping fuel growth. An increasing number of brands with different capabilities are crowding the market with new products. Awareness on the consumer side can help fuel ideas for applications and growth on the commercial side, and as production increases, drone prices are decreasing. Reliability – Ruggedization of drones is needed to ensure connectivity and protect components from harsh environments. Reliability needs to increase to reduce crashes and fly-aways, which will in turn increase adoption rates and customer satisfaction. Ruggedization and reliability also go hand-in-hand with innovation, as they help enable drones to be used where they may not have been able to be used before (e.g. during and after wildfires and natural disasters).