Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) have been designed and developed for military and civilian applications. .At present, the defense industry is considered a prime market for UAVs and is expected to be a major industry for the adoption of UAVs in coming days. These vehicles are widely used for fighter combat, surveillance, aircraft carrier operations, stealth missions, and military communications applications. The drone technology is interdisciplinary with the integration of aerospace structures, telemetry, electronics, and other components. The production of UAVs requires a substantial number of electronic components for data recording and transmission applications, and also for avionic functions. Similarly, the adoption of automated guided vehicle (AGVs) across warehouses to automate the overall operation and reduce the manpower is boosting the integration of autonomous navigation. Moreover, marine sector globally is also investing robustly for procuring unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV), which is used for seafloor mapping, digital cameras, ultrasonic imaging, bathymetry, and magnetic sensors. All these factors are anticipated to propel the adoption of autonomous navigation technology across military, transportation & logistics, and marine sector.
The rapid change in modern warfare has been urging the governments to allocate higher amounts to respective military forces. The higher military budget allocation enables the military forces to purchase robust indigenous technologies, such as autonomous navigation technology, and various other technologies from international manufacturers. The military vehicle modernization practices are peaking in the current scenario among most military forces to keep the personnel and vehicles mission-ready. With an objective to modernize vehicles, the defense ministries across the world are investing substantial amounts in newer technologies, such as autonomous drones, AGV’s, and UUV. This factor is boosting the growth of the military autonomous navigation market.
BLUEBOTICS SA, YUJIN ROBOT CO., LTD, KONGSBERG, TRIMBLE INC., AND AUTONOMOUS SOLUTIONS, INC. – Prominent Market Participants in Autonomous Navigation Market
The top five companies in the autonomous navigation market BlueBotics SA, YUJIN ROBOT Co., Ltd., KONGSBERG, Trimble Inc., Autonomous Solutions, Inc., Collins Aerospace, a Raytheon Technologies Corporation Company, Kollmorgen, Brain Corporation, and KINEXON. Market initiative is a strategy adopted by companies to expand their footprint across the world and to meet the growing customer demand. The market players present in the autonomous navigation market are mainly focusing on expanding geographical presence, winning new contracts, product and service enhancements by integrating advanced features and technologies into their offerings. Most of the market initiatives were observed in the North America and Europe regions, which have a high potential for future market growth. A few of the important market initiatives and product developments from the industry are mentioned below:
| Year | News | Country |
| 2020 | BlueBotics SA signed a korean distribution agreement with MacPion Co. Ltd. This distribution agreement is further strengthened BlueBotics footprint in Asia. | Europe |
| 2020 | Norwegian autonomous-ship received funding of NOK 200 million. AUTOSHIP project is a collaboration between KONGSBERG and Norway’s leading research organization, SINTEF. The addition of funding further strengthens the AUTOSHIP project’s position, which will accelerate the realization of next-generation autonomous ships. | Europe |
| 2020 | Autonomous Solutions, Inc. and Phantom Auto established a partnership for the deployment of unmanned yard trucks. | North America |
