Before 2014, the use of UAV drones for commercial applications was highly regulated in countries such as the United States. Post 2014, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has relaxed the norms for the use of UAV drones for commercial applications, and also FAA has started giving exemptions to companies to make commercial use of drones under Section 333 with some restrictions. As of September 2, 2015, FAA has granted 1,439 exemptions for the commercial use of drones. The global UAV drones market is expected to reach $5.59 billion by 2020, and it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 32.22% between 2015 and 2020. Among all the commercial applications, precision agriculture application is expected to grow at the highest CAGR of 42.25% during the forecast period.
The rotary blade drones market held the largest market share in 2014, and it is expected to reach $4.93 billion by 2020, growing at a CAGR of 31.42% between 2015 and 2020. Rotary blade drones are widely preferred by the professionals from the media and entertainment industry for video shooting and photography.
The UAV drones market is dominated by the key players such as DJI (China), Parrot S.A. (France), 3D Robotics Inc. (U.S.), and PrecisionHawk (U.S.), among others.