Business is booming as regulators relax drone laws

ALTHOUGH DRONES,UAVUAVBVLOS or uncrewed aerial vehicles (s) as they are also known, were originally developed for military target practice and surveillance, the civilian versions that have emerged over the past decade have created a . Commercial s, especially the hovering type, are used for jobs ranging from inspecting power lines, buildings and crops, to aerial photography, transporting medical supplies and even delivering pizzas. The value of this market reached $22.5bn last year, according to Drone Industry Insights, a German research firm with its eye on the business. By 2025 that figure is expected to exceed $42bn.Something helping to accelerate this growth is a gradual relaxation of the strictures that aviation authorities, being , have imposed on the industry. In most countries, drones may not be flown near people or over built-up areas, and must be kept within view of their operator. Exemptions may be sought for specific flights, but this can be a long-winded process, hedged with restrictions. For instance, regulators have usually insisted on ground observers being used to follow flights beyond an operator’s visual line-of-sight, or as it is known. This means extra staff have to be hired and trained, which pushes up costs.