Global Smart Sensors Market to Reach US$6.7 Billion by 2017, Says Global Industry Analysts

GIA announces the release of a comprehensive global report on Smart Sensors markets. World market for Smart Sensors is projected to reach US$6.7 billion by the year 2017. As the technology moves up its lifecycle curve, growth will be led by the accompanying price declines and the ensuing increase in adoption among end-use industries. Growing acceptance of advanced technologies such as Micro-Electromechanical Systems (MEMS) also augurs well for the future of the market.

Sensor networks and smart sensors are being used widely in most of the industries, including automotive, medical, industrial, entertainment, security, and defense due to increased usage of process controls and sensing elements in different sectors. Changing end-user requirements in these industries are being met through advancements in sensor network and smart sensor technologies. While micromachining enhanced the scope of sensor fabrication applications, nanotechnology and micro-electromechanical technology led to improvements in sensor development, design, and the production of in-expensive compact sensors. The aforementioned developments led to the production of more compact implantable biosensors, biomedical sensors and electronic noses. Advanced models of such sensors possess the capability to normalize, digitize, learn, fuse, sense, understand, adapt, and initiate appropriate action.

Smart sensor producers are increasingly emphasizing on using smart sensors in counter-terrorism applications including cargo tracking, biometrics among others. Vendors of wireless communication are embedding their products with radiation detection sensors for the instant detection of illegal radioactive material. Increased security threats and unstable geopolitical environment further highlights the importance of these sensors. Airline baggage identification tags based on contact-less radio frequency, which are used to ensure security and to sort luggage, are under demonstration stage. Smart neural network based pattern recognition systems, and fiber optic building security systems will offer growth opportunities in the coming years. In addition to the above applications, smart sensors are also used to monitor groundwater contaminant levels, personal and environmental chemicals, pesticide application, leak detection, and livestock breeding. In biometric identification systems, smart sensors are used to identify and compare information such as human biological characteristics available in databases or identity cards.

In the aerospace industry, smart sensors are being utilized in Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) and Millimeter-Wave Radar Forward System (MMW). In the industrial sector, there always exists demand for efficient sensors that have the capability of collecting, transmitting and processing information. Intelligent monitoring and warning systems such as smart sensors have the ability to detect critical equipment failure, which results in significant cost savings for the manufacturing industry. Smart sensors can effectively monitor and process the vibration and noise signals even under testing conditions, which makes them suitable for wide range of industries including food processing, transportation, petrochemical, and semiconductor industries among others. A key emerging noteworthy application area in the industrial sector includes use of smart sensors in controlling environmental pollution. Through fast-response from these advanced sensors, environmental impact of energy conversion can be significantly minimized. For instance, on-line monitoring and control of combustion temperature reduces emissions of combustion pollutants such as unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen oxide among others. Smart sensors can measure a wide variety of combustor variables such as reactive radical species, combustion products, gas temperature, and critical pollutants.

In the automobile industry, smart sensors are increasingly being used in air bag systems. There is a paradigm shift among airbag makers towards installation of smart systems. Smart systems are being readily accepted by the auto industry as automakers explore ways to save lives, deflect safety concerns and preempt costly litigation. Conventional airbag systems work on a simple “go, no-go” algorithm. Irrespective of the presence of occupants, airbags are activated if the deceleration level is sufficient to meet the crash criteria. Cost of airbag maintenance goes up due to the inability of these systems to detect occupant presence and location. However, smart systems are capable of detecting the presence of both the passengers as well as their position within the compartment. These systems are designed to create an integrated “occupant protection” or “motion control” system. Smart systems can sense an impending crash, its nature, the presence of occupants, their position, and determine the type of airbags to be fired and the force and speed of their deployment.

As stated by the new market research report on Smart Sensors, Europe represents the largest market worldwide, followed by North America. Asia-Pacific is forecast to emerge into the fastest growing regional market trailing a projected CAGR of 5.5 percent , over the analysis period. Growth in this region will primarily stem from increased acceptance of the technology as a result of lower costs, which in turn is a factor of faster technology diffusion in the region. Major players in the marketplace include ABB, Analog Devices, Custom Sensors & Technologies (CST), Delphi Automotive LLP, Eaton Corp., Meggitt Sensing Systems, Honeywell International Inc, Infineon Technologies AG, Invensys PLC, Motorola Solutions Inc, Oceana Sensor Technologies, Omron, Raytek, Robert Bosch GmbH, Siemens AG, Vishay Intertechnology, Yokogawa Electric Corporation, among others.