Market for commercial drones will reach $1.7b in 2025, Lux Research says

The market for commercial uses of unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs often called drones, will grow to $1.7 billion in 2025, according to a new report from Boston-based Lux Research.

Because government officials are still trying to work out how to regulate the use of commercial drones, there early uses are likely to be in thinly populated areas in such applications as agriculture and oil exploration, said Maryanna Saenko, Lux Research analyst and the lead author of a report titled, “UAV Landscape and Market Size: The Impact of Technology and Regulation on Commercial Applications.”

“Drones have the potential for a wide array of commercial applications, but the current state of regulation is chaotic,” Saenko said in a statement. “Many countries have no regulations, making UAV flight technically legal but poorly regulated, while others – including the US – still ban all commercial use. Regulators will first approve use in sparsely populated areas, benefitting applications like agriculture as well as oil and gas exploration.”