The use of drones in response to COVID-19 will make technology part and parcel of today’s society, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

Drones are already being used around the world as a law enforcement tool to order public back to their homes and disinfect public places. They are also starting to be used to deliver food and medicines to the housebound.

David Bicknell, Principal Analyst of Thematic Research at GlobalData, commented: “Drones are here to stay and, despite public reservations over privacy, the public will have no choice but to get used to them. UK police forces have used drones to monitor countryside walkers who should have stayed at home. In China, drones equipped with thermal sensors have been used to find sick people walking around in public places who should be at home. In some African countries, drones are already being used to deliver blood transfusion samples. All this activity is good economic news for drone makers such as DJI, Parrot, and Yuneec.”

Chinese drone makers DJI and Yuneec and French specialist Parrot all gained a high Thematic score (4 out of 5) for the Coronavirus theme in GlobalData’s COVID-19 Impact on Consumer Electronics report. This score indicates that they stand to benefit over a 12-month period from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bicknell continued: “In Ireland, start-up Manna Aero has begun a drone delivery service in Moneygall, delivering prescription medicine to vulnerable housebound people. There will be no doubt be further regulatory hurdles to overcome surrounding increased use of drones, but aviation authorities will be looking to learn from each other’s experiences to speed up regulation.”

 

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Information based on GlobalData’s report: COVID-19 Impact on Consumer Electronics