Sony Mobile Communications Inc. is getting into the drone business. The company said it’s going to create a joint venture with another Japanese firm to build UAVs that capture images and other data for business uses.

Sony’s mobile arm is teaming up with ZMP Inc., a Tokyo-based robotics firm, to build its drones. But before you get too excited, remember these are not toys. Sony has no intention of selling its drones to consumer anytime soon. Instead, the new company, to be called Aerosense Inc., will focus on selling drones soley to enterprises.

On paper it looks like the perfect marriage. Sony will leverage its expertise in imaging and telecommunications capabilities, while ZMP will contribute its robotics and self-driving car technologies. Working together, the two firms said they’ll build “comprehensive solutions that meet the needs” of businesses. That means building drones capable of inspecting, measuring, observing and surveying, the companies said. Aerosense will be officially founded in August, but we probably won’t see any drones until next year.

In a statement, Sony admitted the newly formed company faces a slight disadvantage, because ZMP’s efforts to date have “been limited to the ground”. Nevertheless, Sony expressed confidence that ZMP possesses the expertise to build high-quality, reliable drones for the enterprise. “With this joint venture, ZMP will take to the skies and apply its expertise in an entirely different realm, as it aims to create new services that were not possible on land,” Sony said in its statement.

ZMP will be the junior partner in the joint venture, taking a 49.995 percent stake in Aerosense, leaving Sony as the majority shareholder.

Neither company has elaborated any more on what they’re planning, but there are lots of industries that could obviously leverage drone technology to their benefit. These include telecommunications companies, which require extremely precise imaging to build new base stations and launch new technologies. The oil and gas industry is another example that’s often cited, with drones being seen as ideal for carrying out remote inspections of pipelines and other facilities. Town planning, highway development, search and rescue, and agriculture are a few others that spring to mind.

Of course, Sony and ZMP aren’t the only companies looking to dominate the drone space. Nokia recently teamed up with Dubai-based telecoms firm Du to carry out a test flight of drones built to inspect telecommunications towers, which suggests there will be a scramble among companies to establish themselves as experts in the niche.

As exciting as the drone opportunity is, they’re only useful so long as they’re allowed to get off the ground. As of now, commercial drone use is heavily restricted in the U.S., but the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is believed to be working towards loosening these regulations.

Image credit: Sony Mobile Communications Inc.