RUGGED THERMAL CAMERAS MARKET ANALYSIS

Market Challenges And Opportunities

Market Dynamics- Drivers

Declining cost in manufacturing of thermal imaging cameras is expected to drive growth of the global rugged thermal cameras market during the forecast period. Rapidly declining cost required for the manufacturing of thermal imaging cameras has increased the adoption of rugged thermal cameras in various sectors. Previously, these cameras were used for particular applications due to high cost. Moreover, the companies used to provide thermal cameras with 17-micron pixel-pitch, however, it has started to provide thermal cameras with 12 and 10-micron pixel pitch. As a result of this, the cost of cameras has reduced by 25-30%. Thus, these factors are expected to drive growth of the global rugged thermal cameras market during the forecast period. For instance, in April 2015, DRS Technologies Inc., a U.S. based defense contractor, launched a thermal camera with a 10-micron pixel pitch infrared detector, offering benefits such as reduced size and cost benefits.

Increasing defense budgets of the Middle East, Asia, and Eastern European economies is expected to propel the global rugged thermal cameras market growth over the forecast period. Defense budgets of various countries in Middle East, Asia, and Eastern European countries have increased significantly, owing to increasing conflicts among neighboring countries. This, in turn, has increased the demand for thermal imaging cameras for surveillance and security. According to Coherent Market Insights’ analysis, 7 out top 10 countries with the largest defense budgets are from Asia and Eastern Europe region.

Market Opportunities

Thermal cameras have witnessed a decline in cost, which is why the product is witnessing an increase in demand for industrial, commercial, and residential applications. Thermal cameras with 10-micron pixels are 25-30% cheaper than traditional 17-micron pixel cameras, which is why these cameras are witnessing new applications in the field of electronics, healthcare, surveillance & security, etc. Thermal cameras with 10-micron pixels are expected to dominate in terms of shipment volumes.

Un-cooled thermal cameras are primarily been used for security and surveillance application for the perimeter security of larger compounds, which is why these cameras are witnessing strong demand from regions such as the U.S., China, Russia, etc., countries having large industrial sectors, utilities, and critical infrastructure.

Market Dynamics- Restraints

Decline in the defense budget from countries with the largest defense budget is expected to restrain growth of the global rugged thermal cameras market during the forecast period. Although countries from the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Asia are increasing their defense budget, countries with the largest budget are declining their defense budgets. This is typically due to crude oil prices thereby reducing demand for rugged thermal cameras. Furthermore, developed economies who have witnessed downfall in their defense budget include U.S., Russia, Saudi Arabia, etc. which are major contributors to the global defense expenditure. Hence, these factors are expected to restrain growth of the market during the forecast period.

High price of thermal imaging cameras is expected to hinder the global rugged thermal cameras market growth over the forecast period. Despite the fact that the manufacturing price of thermal imaging cameras has decreased, it still remains one of the expensive devices in certain applications, especially for commercial use. High price involved in the manufacturing of these thermal cameras poses a challenge to the rugged thermal camera market. For commercial usages, only top vendors in limited verticals are using thermal cameras and the product is still suffering from the perception of being too expensive. Applications for thermal cameras in the field of radiology, firefighting, predictive maintenance are still limited owing to the high price of these thermal cameras.

Restraints

• Decline in the defense budget from countries with the largest defense budget 
• High price of thermal imaging cameras