South: DronesDirect reports half a million using drones for business purposes in UK

A study of 3,045 UK adults by DronesDirect.co.uk, one of the leading drones e-tailers, published in the The UK Drone Usage Report 2016, reveals that 586,430 Britons have used drones for commercial purposes. They are being used particularly in filming, surveying landscapes, surveillance and product delivery.

The media industry (63%) is leading the uptake of their use, most commonly for taking aerial photography or videography. Facilities management firms (39%) ranked in second place, with Mitie having recently unveiled plans to use drones for accessing problems such as pest control in high rise buildings. Oil and utilities companies (34%) are also driving drone uptake with firms such as BP and Shell currently using UAVs to inspect off-shore oil rigs and pipelines.

The agricultural industry (18%) has been quick to incorporate the remote-flying technology into its processes, including assessing crop growth, and distributing pesticides and fertilisers. The construction industry (17%) ranked in fifth place, and is using drones to access the progress of projects. The UK fire and police services have also been incorporating drone technology into rescue operations, for UAVs can provide varying angles from which to access and observe crime scenes and assess the safety of hazardous sites.

Delivery is anticipated to be the largest area of growth for commercial drone usage ahead of the launch of Amazon’s Prime Air parcel-delivery service, and plans by Royal Mail and DHL to do something similar.

Tim Morley, category manager at DronesDirect.co.uk, said, “Drones are already being used around the world for deliveries of consumer products, providing humanitarian aid, and security - with support from the CAA, Britain can be at the forefront of the development for business and industry.”