Even though drones have attracted attention for their use in military conflicts around the world in recent years, they also have enormous commercial potential. Companies are just beginning to unlock the numerous benefits of drones, experimenting with everything from crop-dusting to pizza delivery. According to PwC research, drones could be worth up to $127 billion to different industrial sectors.
UAV technology has made huge strides in recent years, along with regulations and investment support, making it far more user-friendly for commercial applications. PwC conducted an analysis [PDF] of the cost of labor and services in commercial markets that could be replaced by drone powered solutions.
Infrastructure has the best prospects for drone adoption with a total addressable value of over $45 billion. Manned aircraft are already heavily used in agriculture for crop-dusting so it comes as no surprise that this sector also has some $32 billion of financial potential. Transport rounds off the top three industries where drones could really take off. Its total addressable value is $13 billion, according to PwC.
This chart shows the value of drone-powered solutions to industries in 2015.
