For 2006, global market expenditures for the remote sensing market were $7 billion and $7.3 billion is expected for 2007. At a compounded growth rate (CAGR) of 6.3 percent, the market should reach over $9.9 billion by 2012, according to a report by BCC Research.
Through 2012, weather forecasting will account for the largest share of the market with 38 percent. Public health applications have the highest growth potential at an estimated growth rate of 10.9 percent. It is currently worth $402 million and is expected to reach $675 million in six years, the research showed.
The report noted that while remote sensing technology was originally developed for military and intelligence-gathering applications, other industries have begun using geographic information systems (GIS) for everyday operations.
The industry was originally expected to be a combination of GIS, remote sensing and GPS and experience rapid growth to more than $30 billion by 2005. However, the report adds that while that did not occur and that the market is smaller, the resulting remote sensing market is growing.