Sensors, Haptics & Displays

Some use the term Internet of Things (IoT) to rename a large number of existing topics including the burgeoning world of cellphones, tablets and wearable connected devices, better referred to as the Internet of People (IoP).

Wearable electronics is a very fragmented industry when it comes to manufacturers. Even mature sub-sectors have no clear leaders in what will be a $70 billion plus business in 2024 with 12,000 developers and manufacturers as newly calculated by analysts IDTechEx.

The conductive ink and paste business is a large market that will generate $1.6 billion in 2014 in revenue at the ink/paste level.

So far, there is very little true e-textile in production - that is, textiles with electronic and/or electric functionality based on weavable e-fibers. That is now changing.

Plastic Logic demonstrated a flexible AMOLED display at Printed Electronics Europe, an event organised by IDTechEx. The flexible device is the direct result of a recently announced collaboration with Novaled, a supplier of OLED materials.

IDTechEx Research's new report "Wearable Technology 2014-2024: Technologies, Markets, Forecasts" comprehensively covers wearable technology and concentrates on wearable electronics and electrics, which will remain over 99% of the business.

The IDTechEx report "Functional Materials for Future Electronics: Metals, Inorganic & Organic Compounds, Graphene, CNT" looks at the new electronics and electrics from the point of view of suppliers of fine chemicals and associated high added value processes.

Delegates from 23 countries will converge in Berlin on 1-2 April at Energy Harvesting & Storage - Europe's leading event on the topic. The event features end users across multiple verticals presenting and attending to discuss their key energy harvesting needs.

As the next Printed Electronics Europe event is now less than 2 weeks away, it is opportune to take a closer look at the successes of the printed electronics industry in Europe. One of the areas where Europe is making a huge impact is in printed sensors.

The worldwide interest in waste heat recovery continues to grow, with a wide range of applications ranging from small harvesters integrated into wireless sensor networks all the way to larger harvesters such as the ones that can potentially be integrated into cars.