Those observant researchers at IDTechEx are predicting 2017 will be the first billion dollar year for wearable sensors. One might’ve expected that number to be much higher, given all the hype wearables get. Also, since wearables are primarily consumer-centric, again one would expect the figures to be higher. However, the company’s exhaustive report, ““Wearable Sensors 2018-2028: etc.” spans three-plus years of observation that yields a comprehensive characterization and outlook for each type of wearable sensor.
The report addresses 21 different types of wearable sensors across nine different categories:
- Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs)
- optical sensors
- electrodes
- force/pressure/stretch sensors
- temperature sensors
- microphones
- GPS
- chemical and gas sensors
- esoteric and miscellaneous
Just as a side note, wearables, like any and all products that employ sensors in all applications, use pretty much all sensor types. These include pressure sensors, position sensors, temperature, moisture, and motion sensors, etc. Additionally, the report describes wearable sensors in three waves:
- The first wave includes sensors integrated in wearables for many years, often being originally developed for wearable products decades ago, and existing as mature industries today.
- Wave two comes from following huge technology investments in smartphones. Many of these sensors could be easily adapted for use in wearable products.
- Third, as wearable technology hype and investment peaked, organizations identified many sensor types that could be developed specifically with wearable products in mind. These made-for-wearable sensors often remain in the commercial evaluation or relatively early commercial sales today, but some examples are already becoming significant success stories.
More details are available from IDTEchEx. For more info, call the company in the UK at +44-(0)1223-810286