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Global IoT enterprise drone shipments to grow 50% in 2020

Egham (UK), Dec 5

In 2020, worldwide shipments of Internet of Things (IoT) enterprise drones (defined as flying drones) will total 526,000 units, an increase of 50 per cent from 2019, Gartner Inc. said on Thursday.

The global shipments are forecast to reach 1.3 million units by 2023.

"The construction sector is an early adopter of drones, which causes construction monitoring to be the largest use case by shipments worldwide across the forecast. Shipments are estimated to reach 210,000 drones in 2020, and more than double by 2023.

"Drones are taking over tasks such as site surveying and earthworks management as they are faster and safer to carry out with a drone than on foot," Kay Sharpington, Principal Analyst at Gartner, said in a statement.

The insurance industry is the second largest use case by shipments with 46,000 drone shipments forecast for 2020.

"Drones are used to carry out inspections on buildings and structures after a claim has been made, to assess the extent and cause of the damage. They can also be used to evaluate the type and condition of the building when providing an insurance quote," added Sharpington.

"Their benefits are valuable. For example, they reduce the cost of scaffolding, ladders and employee time and provide a comprehensive photographic record of the building condition."

Meanwhile, police and firefighting agencies globally are deploying drones in public safety operations, wildfire management, crime scene investigation, and search and rescue operations.

Drones used for retail deliveries will provide customers with rapid service and allow retailers access to customers in remote areas.

However, the regulatory restrictions and logistical challenge of coordinating flight paths, managing airspace over densely populated areas and managing various payloads means that retail, overall, is a longer-term opportunity for drones.