21. Evaluation of UAS-Based Service Business Models for Road Surface Monitoring

Drones are being used in various applications, such as monitoring and data collection tasks. It has already been demonstrated that taking photos, videos, or collecting data even autonomously along a predefined path is not just possible. Drones are still particularly well suited and efficient at it. However, more feasibility is needed to make a business based on that application viable in the market. This chapter investigates whether unmanned aerial system (UAS)-based road surface monitoring and object detection are competent in today’s business environment, especially in Hungary and Turkey. The approach involved listing the potential business models that could be adopted, and then they were evaluated by experts using criteria relevant to the drone market. The chosen eight business aspects were considered with equal weight, and the highest-scoring idea was providing processed data about sections of interest to the customers. This model had the highest potential because the company can focus on the efficient collection of data, with the possibility to secure recurring inspection activity assignments that would provide a stable, plannable income.