The global Aerial Imaging Market is estimated to be valued at US$ 3439.29 Mn in 2023 and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 15.4% over the forecast period 2023 to 2030, as highlighted in a new report published by Coherent Market Insights.

Market Overview:

The aerial imaging market involves the use of mounted cameras on planes and drones to capture images of the earth’s surface from an elevated perspective. Aerial images find applications in urban planning, engineering, agriculture, surveillance and tourism. Aerial photos help monitor infrastructure development, map natural disasters and assess property or crop damage. The advantages of aerial imaging over satellite imagery include higher resolution, ability to capture images on-demand and monitor specific areas frequently. As economic activities and infrastructure development increases globally, the demand for advanced aerial and geospatial data is also rising significantly. Surveillance technologies are increasingly being used by defense and law enforcement agencies to monitor international borders and monitor illegal activities like human trafficking or terrorism.

Market key trends:

One of the key trends in the aerial imaging market is the rise of drones and small Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS). Drones allow higher resolution images compared to satellites and airplanes at a much lower cost. Drones have streamlined data capture for industries like agriculture, real estate, insurance and construction. Another trend is the growing demand for analytics and actionable geospatial data. Customers want imagery bundled with interpretative analytics, 3D models, objects detection etc. This has led service providers to offer value-added data products and software. Adoption of cloud computing is also enabling scalable storage, processing and delivery of petabytes of aerial imagery data. This is making aerial surveillance affordable for small and medium businesses. Continuous technology improvements in cameras, sensors, batteries and propulsion methods is expanding the applications and use cases for aerial imaging.

Porter’s Analysis

Threat of new entrants: The aerial imaging market requires high initial investment and technology, posing moderate threat of new entrants.

Bargaining power of buyers: The buyers have moderate bargaining power due to availability of substitute products.

Bargaining power of suppliers: The suppliers have low to moderate bargaining power due to availability of alternative suppliers.

Threat of new substitutes: Substitutes like satellite imaging, drone imaging pose low to moderate threat.

Competitive rivalry: The aerial imaging market has high competitive rivalry among existing competitors.

Key Takeaways

The Global Aerial Imaging Market Size is expected to witness high growth, exhibiting CAGR of 15.4% over the forecast period, due to increasing demand for aerial images from government sectors for defense and monitoring purposes.

Regional analysis: North America region dominates the aerial imaging market currently, owing to high investments in defense and security sector in countries like US and Canada. Asia Pacific region is expected to grow at the fastest rate during the forecast period with China and India being the major markets.

Key players operating in the aerial imaging market are Google, Inc., Kucera International, Inc., NRC Group ASA, GeoVantage, Inc., Fugro N.V., Landiscor Real Estate Mapping, Digital Aerial Solutions, LLC, Cooper Aerial Surveys Co., Nearmap Ltd, EagleView Technologies, Inc. Google captures the maximum market share owing to its advanced technologies and broad client base. NRC Group focuses on government projects for defense and monitoring.