Low consumer demand for drones has industry turning more attention to agriculture market

Getty Images photo by Jean Pierre Muller

Low consumer demand for drones is crashing the industry and forcing manufacturers to turn their focus to businesses such as agriculture, Heather Somerville reports for Reuters. "While many drone-makers overestimated demand from hobbyists, they now see big opportunities selling to businesses under newly relaxed U.S. regulations."

The future of drones could be in agriculture, which already leads the market for commercial drone usage, says Lux Research, a Boston-based firm that concentrates on emerging technologies. Agriculture will generate $350 million in revenues in 2025, helping lead the commercial market for drones to $1.7 billion in 2025.

"Farmers can use unmanned aerial vehicles to check fields for areas of dryness or disease, spray fertilizer and pesticide, watch over livestock, and a number of other purposes," reports Futurism. "Drones are more easily serviceable and significantly cheaper than small piloted planes or satellites; ready-to-use agricultural drone systems, together with sensors and software, range in price from $1,500 to $25,000."