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Outdoor surveillance equipment is primed for growth around the world, as it is expected to make up close to half of the global government internet of things (IoT) market.
The outdoor surveillance equipment market segment, which includes cameras, commercial drones and foot traffic sensors, is forecast to grow around the world by 8 per cent, year-on-year, to US$6.7 billion, by the end of 2020.
It is also expected to make up approximately 45.6 per cent of the whole government IoT endpoint electronics and communication market — up slightly from 2019's 44.6 per cent — which is forecast to increase by 6 per cent to reach US$14.7 billion over the same time period, according to research firm Gartner.
After outdoor surveillance, the next highest market segment was street and outdoor lighting at US$1.7 billion, followed by road toll and traffic management and city asset tracking both at US$1.6 billion each.
Kay Sharpington, principal research analyst at Gartner, said the rise comes amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with IoT technologies and solutions used to "improve citizen safety".
“Governments are increasing their spending on outdoor surveillance cameras to monitor cities for crime. In the wake of COVID-19, they are also used to track compliance with safety restrictions,” she said.
Sourced from the data of 206 countries, including Australia and New Zealand, ASEAN and India, the forecast also sees governments around the world deploying eight cameras per thousand urban citizens for outdoor surveillance by 2021, an increase of six cameras per thousand in 2019.
The Chinese government is expected to be a key contributor for the outdoor surveillance spending growth, with it forecast to deploy 32 cameras per thousand citizens by 2021, up from 27 cameras per thousand in 2019.
Furthermore, China is also forecast to account for 48 per cent of spending on electronics and communications in 2020, with the US and Western Europe expected to make up 16 per cent and 15 per cent, respectively.
Drone usage is also forecast to rise, with fire services and police drones to grow from one per 58,000 people to one per 18,000 between 2019 to 2021.
For firefighters, Sharpington said drones can be used to deploy resources in specific areas and verify the safety of areas before people are sent in, while drones offer police agencies a moveable viewpoint that can operate independently of traffic and terrain.
