The civil engineering, defense, forestry and agriculture industry have been adopting LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology. A trend that started in 2014 and will continue to 2020. This according to a report by Allied Market Research that has published its findings in a journal titled Global LiDAR Market - Size, Industry Analysis, Trends, Opportunities, Growth and Forecast, 2013-2020.
Credit: Directions Mag
Explaining the benefits of LiDAR, Director of Remote sensing at Dewberry, said: "The laser ranging device sends out millions of pulses - today they can send out over four hundred thousand pulses in one second. That technology gives you the distance and the range to the target." The technology also uses global positioning systems and IMU systems as well. It is the most reliable way of navigating terrain that currently exists in the world of today. It is the technology that allows self-driving cars to navigate and avoid obstacles that come across its path. Hence, the LiDAR market is growing rapidly.
The Indian government also spoke of how they will be adopting more LiDAR technologies in the near future. The Surveyor General of India spoke to The Hindu, saying: "Use of LiDAR technology is quite beneficial and it gives quality data in digital form in a short time. This data can be used in many projects related to roads, canals, surface transport, city planning, landslides, irrigation etc,"
The report by Allied Market Research says that the LiDAR market is expected to rake in $3.22 billion by 2022. The reason for the spike in the market, analysts say, is due to the automotive sector and civil engineering industries continuing to make use of LiDAR technology.
LiDAR technology has been estimated to have the biggest CAGR (compound annual growth rate) in the UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) sector due to the number of drones being purchased by the media, entertainment, precision farming and personal hobbyist industries, including the governmental use as well. The market will grow most in the Asia-Pacific regions between 2016 and 2022, the report said.
However, North America currently owns 45% of the current market in 2015, with Europe trailing them with a 33% revenue share, according to DirectionsMag.
Ford has recently used LiDAR to allow a self-driving car to see in the dark. To see what a self-driving car utilizing LiDAR technology would 'see', check this video out:
