Top Drone Applications by Industry and Method

The market model at Drone Industry Insights uses 17 industry verticals, which are based on the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) but adjusted specifically to the drone industry.

The top 3 industries for drone technology are: Energy, Construction, and Agriculture.

Roughly 14% of all drone applications take place within the Energy industry vertical, followed by 12% taking place in Construction, and 9% in Agriculture. Combined, these industry verticals represent more than one third (35%) of drone applications, meaning that those are the top drone applications in terms of industry.

Meanwhile, the top drone application methods are Mapping & Surveying (34%), Inspections (25%), and Photography and Filming (10%).

In comparison to the industries, the methods are much more consolidated since the top 3 drone application methods represent 69% of the market. This may not be too surprising to drone professionals because those are the activities where drones bring some of the biggest advantages in comparison to a human. Inspecting a large infrastructure, mapping/surveying a vast piece of land, or using aerial photography/filming with a drone instead of a person makes the process faster, safer, and captures more and better data.

However, it is crucial to recall that the share of methods is different for each industry vertical. For instance, in the Energy sector, most of the time drones are used to carry out inspections, which ranks as the second-highest overall application method. Therefore, it would not be accurate to assume that the top drone application is a combination of the top industry (Energy) along with the top method (Mapping & Surveying). For this reason, it is imperative to always carry out due diligence before starting a drone business.

Find out all there is to know about drone applications in our report: