Wearable camera market to soar

Wearable camera shipments are set to increase to 30.6 million units a year by 2020 from 5.6 million in 2014, according to market research firm Tractica.

GoPro is driving momentum in sports applications but consumer, enterprise and public safety applications aren’t far behind, according to Tractica. In many ways, wearable cameras are an extension of the smartphone camera, enabling hands-free functionality that allows users to capture both planned and spontaneous moments from unique perspectives, by using body or head mounts, or simply clipping the camera to clothing.

The wearable camera market is still in the early stages of development and is experiencing rapid growth as use cases for wearable cameras expand, according to Tractica.

“Wearable camera adoption will be strongest in areas where there is a clear and specific use case or context in which the camera is used,” said research director Aditya Kaul.

“While GoPro is driving the market for sports and adventure enthusiasts, we expect usage of consumer life-logging cameras like those from Narrative to mature over time to capture specific moments and support video streaming. The public safety sector is also experiencing growth in the adoption of body-worn cameras for police officers provided by companies like Taser, Vievu and Digital Ally. In addition, enterprise users are experimenting with applications like user experience research in retail and hospitality.”

Tractica’s report, ‘Wearable Cameras’, analyses the global market for wearable cameras, providing an assessment of market drivers and barriers, technology issues, and key industry players. The study provides detailed forecasts for wearable camera shipments and revenue across application markets including sports, public safety, consumer, enterprise, industrial and health care.