Sensors, Haptics & Displays

Living near a building site will no longer mean being woken up at the crack of dawn by such loud revving engines thanks to the electrification of construction vehicles. Future operators will soon be utilizing screens to control machines in a safer, calmer environment, and one day, machines could dig holes themselves as the industry advances and moves closer towards automation.

Due to rising labor costs and labor shortages, coupled with the surge in e-commerce and logistics demands, the mobile robotics market is rapidly expanding. IDTechEx's forecast indicates that the annual market size for mobile robotics in logistics and delivery is set to approach US$150 billion, marked by a robust double-digit compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the next two decades.

Gas sensor technology makes the invisible - visible. This technology has the potential to identify a huge range of gaseous sources, allowing users to quantify air quality and smells. In this article, IDTechEx explores the variety of applications within the environmental gas sensor market.

Copper is a key mineral for the automotive industry, used ubiquitously across the wiring harnesses market. Its demand is set to grow due to electric vehicle and autonomous vehicle megatrends. IDTechEx's brand new report "Copper Demand for Cars 2024-2034: Trends, Utilization, Forecasts" finds the automotive copper demand will reach 5MT (1MT = 1 billion kilograms) of annual demand in 2034.

Driver monitoring systems (DMS) have gained considerable momentum, driven by the escalating SAE autonomous driving levels and regulatory frameworks in key regions like the USA, Europe, China, Japan, and others.

Could cars with perfect night vision one day be a possibility? With a more heightened awareness of their surroundings in low visibility conditions thanks to short wave infrared (SWIR) image sensors, vehicles are on the road to visualizing beyond what the human eye can see. The powerful combination of new SWIR sensors with radar technology will allow cars to think fast and accurately to determine their surroundings, keeping passengers safe any time of the day.

In the ever-evolving landscape of visual technologies, one innovation shines brilliantly - MicroLED displays. These remarkable displays are poised to disrupt the industry, and IDTechEx are going to delve into the incredible potential of MicroLED technology. The journey through this transformative landscape is guided by the insights from IDTechEx's extensive report, "Micro-LED Displays 2024-2034: Technology, Commercialization, Opportunity, Market and Players".

Computers on wheels. That's how people currently see cars. Practically everything that happens in a vehicle is being monitored and actuated by a microcontroller, from opening windows to calculating the optimal fuel-air mixture for the current torque demand. But the surface has only just been scratched in terms of how much computing power is making its way into vehicles.

Flytrex is one of the leading companies in autonomous drone delivery. In 2022, the company reported a 765% increase in deliveries after achieving regulatory approval from the Federal Aviation Agency to begin its automated drone delivery services in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Founded in 2013, Flytrex has made significant efforts in developing their autonomous drones for delivery services. However, as a common barrier for the drone industry, it takes Flytrex a long time before they get the green light from regulatory bodies.

AR and VR (augmented and virtual reality) headsets are well on their way to establishing themselves as the next important category of computing devices. Mixed reality-capable VR headsets like Meta's Quest 3 and the upcoming Apple Vision Pro are demonstrating the true power of spatial computing. VR headsets for home gaming have sold by the million, while AR glasses have carved out a place in the industry.