The consumer drone market continues to exhibit dramatic growth, according to ABI Research. The company predicts more than 90 million consumer unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) will ship during 2025, up from 4.9 million in 2014. Consumer drone revenues in 2025 are forecast to reach $4.6 billion.
According to research findings, toy/hobbyist drone shipments accounted for 30 percent of consumer UAV revenue in 2014, while the prosumer segment captured 69 percent ABI Research anticipates that toy/hobbyist UAV revenue will surpass prosumer UAV revenue beginning in 2017, and will account for more than two-thirds of the $4.6 billion consumer drone market in 2025.
Additionally, the report finds that as the complexity of technology in the toy/hobbyist segment continues to increase, consumer UAVs with at least one camera can expect higher shipments than those without any cameras from 2019 onward. These cameras will not be limited to taking pictures and video, but will also be utilized for machine-vision applications, such as motion tracking, obstacle avoidance, and other advanced functionalities.
