The autonomous navigation market in the MEA is expected to grow from US$ 17.7 million in 2019 to US$ 34.1 million by 2027; it is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 10.6% from 2020 to 2027.
Big Data is proving to be a game-changer for shipping, logistics, military, and other end users of autonomous navigation. The scope of autonomous systems, such as self-driving cars and drones, is anticipated to positively impact the daily lives of individuals. Assured navigation is anticipated to be a key enabler for emerging applications of autonomous systems such as cars and drones. Various initiatives have been taken up to develop assured AI-based navigation solutions for UAVs to enable reliable operation in safety-critical missions, especially when satellite navigation such as GNSS and GPS are not available. Moreover, autonomous navigation systems offer resilience during pandemics and disasters; e.g., autonomous deliveries can help in situation of viral threats (such as COVID-19 outbreak) without risking any courier or delivery recipients.
Owing to the growing need for high precision hybrid navigation technologies, AI-based autonomous navigation can handle safety-critical operations. Therefore, the developers are focusing on designing cost-effective and assured navigation solution for the autonomous systems that are ideal for safety-critical missions. Vessel navigation and unmanned ships deployed with autonomous navigation technology are among the other factors expected to positively influence the demand for autonomous navigation.
In terms of platform, the land segment led the MEA autonomous navigation market in 2019. Autonomous navigation is used in automated-guided vehicles, drones, and mobile robots to optimize productivity. A modular system has been designed to support visual navigation by the autonomous land vehicle. The system is encompassed with vision modules performing three-dimensional shape recovery, image processing, geometric reasoning, and modules for planning, navigating, and piloting. The use of autonomous navigation in land-based vehicles is anticipated to impact market growth.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is impacting the MEA severely. Iran, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, South Africa, and the UAE are among the countries with high number of COVID-19 confirmed cases and reported deaths.
The economic and industrial growth of these countries has been affected negatively in the last few months. Due to lesser maritime trade and limited business in shipping industry in the first quarter of 2020, the trend of unmanned ships and vessel navigation has been disturbed. This factor has affected the scope of autonomous navigation systems.
The overall MEA autonomous navigation market size has been derived using both primary and secondary sources. To begin the research process, exhaustive secondary research has been conducted using internal and external sources to obtain qualitative and quantitative information related to the market. The process also serves the purpose of obtaining overview and forecast for the MEA autonomous navigation market with respect to all the segments pertaining to the region. Also, multiple primary interviews have been conducted with industry participants and commentators to validate the data, as well as to gain more analytical insights into the topic. The participants who typically take part in such a process include industry experts such as VPs, business development managers, market intelligence managers, and national sales managers, along with external consultants such as valuation experts, research analysts, and key opinion leaders, specializing in the MEA autonomous navigation market. Collins Aerospace; Raytheon Technologies Corporation Company; Furuno Electric Co. Ltd, LTD.; Kollmorgen; Kongsberg; Trimble Inc. are among the players operating in the MEA autonomous navigation market.