The new report from Marketsandmarkets on the thermal imaging market, estimates a growth from USD 7.71 billion in 2016 to USD 10.27 billion by 2021, at a compound annual growth rate of 5.9%, and predicts that the surveillance sector will dominate that market with the biggest share during the forecast period. The thermal imaging market is witnessing a rising demand due to declining prices of thermal cameras. The substantial growth in the thermal imaging market can be credited to the increasing need of thermal cameras in all commercial applications, such as surveillance, automotive, consumer electronics, and thermography, among others.
Analysts found that the surveillance application segment is expected to dominate the market from 2016 to 2021. Thermal imaging cameras are primarily deployed by military and defence for border patrol and border security. These cameras are being increasingly used for surveillance in airborne, maritime, and land systems. Furthermore, the automotive application segment is expected to gain traction in the next five years. The increasing use of thermal cameras in the automotive sector to reduce the risks in driving, especially at night, is one of the major reasons for the growth of thermal imaging market in this application.
The industrial, commercial, and residential segment is expected to grow at a rapid rate from 2016 to 2021 in the thermal imaging market. The high growth rate can be attributed to the rapid adoption of thermal cameras for commercial applications such as healthcare, transportation, education and many others. The military and defence segment is expected to contribute the largest market share in the thermal imaging market in 2016 owing to its application in border patrol and intrusion prevention.
Researchers expect that North America will have the largest market share during the forecast period, due to increasing adoption of thermal imaging products and services by organisations in this region for applications such as surveillance, threat detection, automotive, predictive maintenance, and others. Asia-Pacific (APAC) offers potential growth opportunities due to the rise in technology penetration and high defence spending, and presence of a large number of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), which are the acquisition targets of the larger players in the U.S.
