A growing ecosystem of drone software and hardware vendors is already catering to a long list of clients in agriculture, land management, energy, and construction. Many of the vendors are smallish private companies and startups - although large defense-focused companies and industrial conglomerates are beginning to invest in drone technology, too.
In the most recent in-depth report on drones from BI Intelligence, we provide a list and brief profiles of dozens of civilian/commercial drone-systems and aircraft vendors that have come to prominence in recent years. This list is not comprehensive. (One market-research outfit, IBISWorld, has counted more than 60 UAV vendors operating in the US alone.)
- 3D Robotics
- Aerialtronics
- Aeryon Labs
- Airware
- Altavian
- Amazon Prime Air
- Ascending Technologies
- Aeronavics
- AeroVironment
- CybAero
- DJI
- Dreamhammer
- EHANG
- Finmeccanica
- GoPro
- Gryphon Dynamics
- Hexo+
- Honeywell
- Indra
- Insitu
- Joby Aviation
- Kespry
- Matternet
- Microdrones
- Parrot
- PrecisionHawk
- Schiebel
- SenseFly
- Sky-Futures
- Skycatch
- Skydio
- Skyspecs
- SkyWard
- Verifly
- Zano
- Well-known defense contractors: Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Textron, Lockheed Martin, Airbus, Elbit, and Aeronautics LTD.
In full, the report:
- Shows how the drone industry has begun to see some consolidation and major investments from large industrial conglomerates, chip companies, and defense contractors.
- Identifies the industries that will be the most promising target markets for drone tech vendors
- Explains why technology barriers are at once a roadblock and a huge business opportunity.
- Delves into how many of the notable early commercial UAV manufacturers are emerging outside of the US market
- Contains two detailed tables listing all the US companies already authorized to fly drones commercially, the brand/model of UAVs they'll use, and the applications they're supporting
- Details the implications of the FAA's new proposed rules for commercial drones
- Explores the top applications for commercial drones and why they have emerged as niches friendly to UAV technology
- Lists the high-level attributes of UAV systems and hardware, and why there are certain obstacles that remain difficult
- Contains charts on commercial-drone market size, FAA exemptions, and direct economic impact
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