Since the FAA formalized testing requirements for commercial drone usage 18 months ago, there has been an explosion in several industries now utilizing drones in their business operations.

Recent reports from different drone service providers have agreed that the construction industry has seen the most growth in drone adoption within their existing business models.

Use of drones by construction companies has grown an amazing 239 percent from the year before.  This isn't surprising, as drones offer a distinct advantage when it comes to monitoring construction progress over time. The reason for such growth could be the fact that construction companies were slower to embrace the use of drones. Compared to other businesses such as real estate, this would mean that construction is now playing catch-up.

What is interesting to see is that the second largest yearly growth of 198 percent was seen in the mining industry. In mining, drones have been used for mapping terrain and calculating stockpile volumes. They are also used for equipment inspections, emergency response, and security and surveillance.

The agriculture industry has seen a 172 percent drone adoption growth, especially in smaller farms where drones can be used for livestock tracking, crop health scanning with infrared cameras, irrigation management, and even crop spraying. While the growth in agriculture is large, it is not as high as some companies had hoped for in selling their specialized agricultural drone products and services.

Close behind agriculture, drone surveying has increased by 171 percent, although this one is harder to itemize as it covers a much wider spectrum than a single industry. Surveying can cover pretty much anything- from larger projects, like road and traffic pattern analysis, to city planning and zoning areas, to smaller projects like stock level reporting in a car dealership.

Last on the list with the smallest growth (only just over 100 percent) is the real estate market. This isn't really surprising though, as real estate was one of the first fields to embrace drones. Realtors were using drones for their property listings long before the FAA implemented the Part 107 testing and licensing. As such, the real estate field reached its potential years ago.

There are so many different ways to use drones to enhance your business practice- far more than just aerial video and photography. Imagination is the only limitation. 

Terry Young is an FAA licensed drone pilot and professional photographer and videographer.  His 30 plus years of experience in pre- and post-production of both still photography and video, coupled with the latest equipment,  enable him to capture amazing, high quality images.

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