PwC: $127bn worth of human labour at risk from drones

A new report by PwC says commercial applications for drones will replace $127bn worth of services and labour "in the very near future," transforming how companies will do business. PwC singles out infrastructure as the sector that will most benefit from drone technology, with the potential to replace $45.2bn of services and labour. By providing eyes from the sky, drones give real-time monitoring, which is helpful in security, insurance, and media, as well as reducing the need for humans to perform dangerous tasks on sites in mining and construction; and firms such as Google, Amazon and UPS are looking to use drones for quick delivery of packages by air. 

For many people, drones are what they found neatly wrapped underneath the Christmas tree this past holiday season. But piloting flying lawnmowers around the park for fun is just part of the consumer side of the technology. Drones are also expected to transform how companies do business.

A report released by PwC today (May 9) estimates that commercial applications for drones will replace $127 billion worth of services and labor “in the very near future.”

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It’s easy to see why businesses are embracing drone technology. By providing eyes from the sky, drones offer real-time monitoring (useful in security, insurance, and media) and reduce the need for humans to perform dangerous work on site (such as in mining and construction). Companies like Amazon and Google also have ambitions to use drones to efficiently and quickly deliver packages by air.

PwC singles out infrastructure—which encompasses the energy, railway, and oil and gas industries—as the sector that’ll benefit most from drone technology. The firm says that drones have the potential to replace $45.2 billion of services and labor in infrastructure.