The disruption caused at UK airports last Christmas brought the use of drones into the public eye, but adoption is actually being held back by regulation, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

The company’s latest report, ‘Drones – Thematic Research’ states that the market for the civilian use of drones, both as recreational devices and in commercial applications, has steadily opened up over the last few years. However, regulation is increasingly getting in the way of adoption.

Commenting on the report, Gary Barnett, chief analyst, Technology Thematic Research at GlobalData, said, “The enthusiastic adoption of drone technology by both individuals and enterprises faces regulatory barriers in many countries, driven by a combination of security and safety concerns. However, compelled by industrial demand, several governments are gradually undertaking regulatory reforms relating to the use of drones in commercial airspaces. This, in turn, is fueling investment for technological improvements and business prospects.”

Barnett continues: “As regulations mature, drones as a service (DaaS) providers are poised to take advantage of opportunities to offer industry-specific solutions, with interest growing in a number of domains including drone delivery, drone-based internet services, disaster response, and medical assistance.”

GlobalData predicts that the growing volume of data gathered by drones will also create demand for increasingly sophisticated analysis of that data, with leading artificial intelligence (AI) players such as Microsoft, IBM, Google, Alibaba, Intel and Amazon all gearing up to establish themselves in the drones market.