Haptics

Printed and flexible sensors constitute the largest printed electronics market outside of displays. Indeed, we forecast that the market for fully printed sensors will reach 4.9 billion by 2032.

The development of new technology often creates new opportunities to provide value to customers in new products. Electronic textiles have hundreds of potential use cases, many of which are being explored by different companies around the world. So where is the "killer app" for e-textiles?

While vehicle interiors might be an obvious target for emerging technologies based on printed/flexible electronics, there are also plenty of opportunities for vehicle exteriors. These range from transparent heaters to solar panels, and benefit from attributes as varied as transparency, conformality, low weight, and tunable absorption spectra.

Electronic skin patches represent one wearable technology product type that is well suited for physiological monitoring. Over the last 18 months, the COVID-19 pandemic has driven a worldwide concerted effort to explore and revise our approaches to patient monitoring and infectious disease management. As with other wearable devices, electronic skin patch products have evolved significantly over this period of time.

IDTechEx have released their latest report on Electronic Skin Patches. The report, titled "Electronic Skin Patches 2021-2031", covers the market, technology, and players in this unique product sector, and predicts that the sector will be worth $10bn in annual revenue in 2021.

Wednesday 14 July 2021 - Emerging SWIR image sensor technologies, such as extend-range silicon; Hybrid photodetectors utilizing quantum dots or organic semiconductors; Thin film flexible photodetectors; Hyperspectral imaging; Event-based vision; Flexible x-ray image sensors.

Image sensing is an essential capability, utilized across multiple applications that range from webcams and smartphone cameras to autonomous vehicles and industrial inspection.

Automotive OEMs are increasingly using interior features to distinguish between models and from other brands. There are, therefore, extensive opportunities for printed/flexible electronics to add additional functionality to the cockpit while facilitating efficient manufacturing.

Thursday 27 May 2021 - In this webinar Dr Matthew Dyson, a Technology Analyst at IDTechEx specializing in printed/flexible electronics, will discuss a wide range of emerging applications for printed/flexible electronics technologies within the automotive sector, along with a forecast adoption timeline.

Many common haptic applications only target a particular area, for example, smartphones affecting the hands and fingers, but haptic exoskeletons expand their effects to a full-body experience, with potential use in industries from gaming to the medical field.