Aerial Imaging Market Size (2024 - 2029)

Aerial Imaging Market Analysis

The Aerial Imaging Market size is estimated at USD 2.9 billion in 2024, and is expected to reach USD 6.36 billion by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 16.98% during the forecast period (2024-2029).

Aerial imaging and its evolution into video imagery have been captured using various small aerial platforms for over three decades. Small-scale platforms such as radio-controlled model aircraft, helicopters that use small 35 mm SLR, and light-weighted video cameras have been used to acquire color, panchromatic, color infrared (CIR), and multispectral aerial photography for a wide range of applications.

• The market has been augmented by the technology development of ready-to-fly (RTF) devices, soft-copy photogrammetry software, low-cost digital cameras, image processing, GPS, thermal, multispectral, hyperspectral, and LiDAR sensors. UAVs have become a sophisticated means of acquiring high-resolution photographic and 4K video datasets for small-area coverage studies.

• Aerial imaging uses GPS, which aids in precise location. For instance, farmers use GPS targeting to monitor the health of the crops, identify problem areas, and spray fertilizer. Energy and power site management benefits from the precision of aerial imaging, as it can be repaired from weather damages and targeted more accurately.

• Police departments also use maps that are being created using aerial imagery. The department uses it for the movement of essential items, placing physical distancing markers, workforce allocation, deciding where to set up isolation centers, marking nearby hospitals and police stations from hotspots, and the shortest routes for easy movement in an emergency.

• The COVID-19 pandemic has led to increased demand for aerial imagery. This imagery is used to study the virus's economic impact and remotely monitor infrastructure and facilities. The demand increased from various industries, including government, energy, power, oil, and gas. Also, the imagery monitored supply chain situations during the pandemic's peak.

• Although the trend of drone surveying is already becoming mainstream, the pandemic tipped the scale in its favor substantially. UAVs have become a go-to technology during the COVID-19 pandemic because they can accomplish tasks without contact. They have played a crucial role in surveying and mapping areas where hospitals and COVID-19 test centers can be built and monitoring such sites.

Aerial Imaging Industry Segmentation

Aerial photography is mainly used for geospatial mapping, media and entertainment, environmental studies, and other areas. It involves taking pictures of a flying object or aircraft. The various platforms for aerial photography include helicopters, UAVs/drones, balloons, blimps, rockets, kites, parachutes, airships, or any flying aircraft. The study tracks the revenue accrued from the different application types used across industries, such as government, aerospace, construction, and agriculture, among others worldwide.

The aerial imaging market is segmented by platform type (fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, UAVs/drones), application (geospatial mapping, infrastructure planning, asset inventory management, environmental monitoring, national and urban mapping, surveillance and monitoring, disaster management), end-user industry (construction, aerospace and defense, government, oil and gas, energy and power, agriculture), by geography (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Rest of the World). The market sizes and forecasts are provided in terms of value (USD) for all the segments.