After nearly a week of restricting drones from flying around Houston, the Federal Aviation Administration has authorized several dozen unmanned aircraft systems to assist with the response, recovery and reporting efforts related to Hurricane Harvey.

This is the first time there is some real urgency for drones, says Mike Winn, the CEO and a co-founder of DroneDeploy, a four-year-old San Francisco-based startup that provides drone-mapping software. The FAA initially banned drones in Houston and is now offering only limited access because it wants to prevent conflicts between drones and other aircrafts competing for airspace above the city.

“Their position is understandable,” says Winn, “but the reality is these tools are lifesavers.” Drones have been used in search and rescue efforts since 2013, he says. Commercial drones have saved at least 59 lives since then, the majority in the last ten months, he says, pointing to a report from DJI Technology. Drones have been used to locate people and deliver rescue ropes, lifejackets and other supplies.

DroneDeploy already has “tens of thousands of users,” says Winn, across many companies. Many of its customers hail from the agriculture and construction industries. Others are involved in mining, archaeology, and search and rescue operations. Commercial drone users come from pretty much every industry, he says.

Presently, there are few ways to invest in commercial drones. DroneDeploy receives the bulk of its funding from venture capital firms Emergence Capital and Scale Venture Partners, says Winn, and there are no opportunities for individuals to invest in the company. Other drone-related startups include Skycatch, Kespry and Airware. Winn notes that more companies focused on drones can be found on AngelList, a website for start-ups, angel investors and job seekers who wish to work at start-ups.

Publicly traded companies tend to manufacture military drones, he says, which is a completely different segment than commercial drones.

Winn anticipates a huge emerging market for commercial drones. “We think of them as the first mobile robots,” he says. He points to a couple of compelling industry projections. Goldman Sachs Research forecasts a $100 billion market opportunity for drones between 2016 and 2020, which it says will be helped by growing demand from the commercial and civil government sectors.

Gartner, a leading research and advisory company, estimates that almost 3 million drones will be produced in 2017, a 39 percent jump from 2016. It expects annual global market revenues from the production of personal and commercial drones to top $6 billion this year and rise to $11.2 billion by 2020.

Commercial drones can give users data “almost immediately, from the perspective of a bird,” says Winn. Farmers can get the full perspective of 80 to 160 acres in one view, he says, which enables them to spot pests, irrigation problems and fertilizer needs.

DroneDeploy’s software collects data through photos and then uses this data to create maps, 3D models and other data. For example, it can help people determine how much earth needs to be moved in a construction site, says Winn.

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