Commercial Uses of Drones

Drones are unmanned aircraft that can navigate while controlled by humans on the ground, or via pre-programmed flight patterns managed from the ground. Drones vary from full-scale aircraft used by the military to small, lightweight craft used by civilians for an ever-widening variety of uses. Drones are sometimes called UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) and may conduct real-time monitoring of conditions on the ground over wide distances. Drones are often small devices, but UAVs can be quite large, including armed, military UAVs and even commercial aircraft. Xwing was a pioneer introducing autonomous technology for regional air cargo planes, by pairing ground-based controllers with pilotless cargo aircraft. With the goal of meeting growing demands on supply chains, Xwing’s human-operated software seamlessly integrated with existing aircraft (via on-board sensors, navigation and flight controls) to enable pilotless flight. The company was acquired by Joby Aviation in June 2024.

In recent years, small drones equipped with cameras have been taking to the skies to assist a variety of industries such as agriculture, construction, oil and gas, mining, real estate, entertainment, transportation control, advertising, public safety and education, to name a few. In the oil and gas industry, for example, drones can fly over pipelines and transmit images, allowing companies to watch for leaks or other problems. Real estate agents utilize drones to take aerial pictures of properties they are trying to sell. Film makers use drones to inexpensively shoot footage from above without having to hoist heavy cameras and their operators into the air. The number of industries utilizing drones is multiplying exponentially.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

Become a Plunkett Research Online subscriber to gain unlimited access to our massive amount of vital industry data and market research.

✔ 100,000 Industry Statistics
✔ 500 Industries Analyzed for Market Size, Profits and Forecasts
✔ 150,000 Industry Executives Profiled
✔ 25,000 Companies Profiled, Ranked and Analyzed
✔ 1,000 Vital Trends Analyzed, totaling 1,000,000 words

Learn More

Commercial Uses of Drones, Business and Industry Trends Analysis

A Representative List of Organizations that Have Used our Research and Products:

How to access Plunkett Research data.

What data challenge can we help you solve today?

Take a Tour

Contact

Testimonials