Drone market growth hindered by lack of legal compliance

Legal compliance and ethical and political implications in the use and development of UAVs with respect to the airspace of individual countries is hindering market growth, according to a new report. It is one of the trends identified in The Global Mobile Robotics Report 2016-2020. It also highlights the fact that global manufacturers are embracing Industry 4.0 to attain operational excellence and profitability.  Industry 4.0 encourages the use of digital technology, complete factory automation, and use of mobile robotics to create smart factories.The aim is to replace human labour with robots to improve the productivity and efficiency of the factory.

Online shopping 

Commenting,  an analyst from the research team said: 'Increase in online shopping has initiated the need for improving product delivery system. This has prompted online retail and e-commerce companies to look out for newer and innovate ways of product delivery. Companies have started investing in UAVs for delivering products to customers. Amazon and Walmart have authorized license from FAA to test UAV/drone delivery system. At present, both the companies are testing the feasibility of drone delivery system for commercial purpose. Other major retailers and e-commerce companies are also expected to follow this trend.'

Key players

Key players in the global mobile robotics market include Boeing, Israel Aerospace Industries, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Oceaneering, Omron Adept Technologies, and SAAB. It also identifies other vendors including AeroVironment, Atlas Eleckronik, Bae Systems, Bluefin Robotic, Cobham, DOK-ING, Fugro, GeckoSystems, General Dynamics, Kongsberg Maritime, Parrot, QinetiQ, and Teledyne Technologies.