Remote Sensing Technologies and Global Markets

Report Highlights

The global remote sensing technologies market is estimated at $8.3 billion in 2011. It is expected to reach at $9.1 billion in 2012 and it will further grow to $12.4 billion by 2017 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.4%.

Report Scope

This report focuses exclusively on products created from platform-mounted remote sensors.  Thus, it excludes instruments that:

• Require physical contact with a substance, such as chromatographs,
• Handheld devices and field instruments,
• Airport screening systems,
• Products developed using national defense and intelligence instruments or platforms, and
• Geographic information system software.

This report is divided into three parts.  The first part, comprising eight chapters, provides the following:

• An overview of the remote sensing industry
• An explanation of basic remote sensing operating concept
• A description of the 10 basic types of remote sensing instruments
• A description of the four types of remote sensing platforms
• Regional, instrument by application and platform by application estimates of 2011 demand for remote sensing products
• Regional, instrument-by-application and platform-by-application forecasts for the 5 years beginning in 2012
• A basic explanation of remote sensing image analysis techniques

The second part, chapters nine through 28, describes each of the market-driven applications for remote sensing.  Tables present application-specific information about market drivers.  Forecasts span 2012 through 2017, using 2011 as the reference year.  For each of the 20 market-driven applications, separate tables show forecasts by region, with the U.S. shown separately.  Global demand forecasts are also shown for remote sensing platforms and for remote sensing instruments are also included.

The third part of the study, consisting of the last two chapters, offers a review of remote sensing patents, including patent abstracts and the names of the inventors and original patent assignees.  Chapter 30 concludes the study with brief descriptions of the major organizations that form and support the global remote sensing community.

Analyst Credentials

James Wilson is a noted technology analyst and author of more than 300 articles and several books dealing with science, medicine, technology, and business. Formerly the editor of the Princeton Business Journal and a senior science and technology editor for Hearst Magazines, he is a past member of the National Association of Science Writers and American Medical Writers Association.  He has served on the adjunct faculty of Temple University and on the staffs of Drexel University and the Academy of Natural Sciences.  He is also the author of both the 2007 and 2009 editions of Remote Sensing Technologies and Global Markets.  In connection with his earlier works on remote sensing, Wilson has made site visits to headquarters and operational facilities of the major corporate, government, and military facilities involved in the industry.