These past 12 months have seen numerous celebrity deaths, athlete drug scandals and the end of Brangelina however, it was also the year Tesla announced fully automated cars, Alexa became part of the family and Leicester City won the Premier League. As we plan ahead for 2017, IDTechEx analysts have taken a look back over the past 12 months and picked out the most impactful technology launches, acquisitions and products from 2016. Happy New Year from all at IDTechEx!

IDTechEx research analysis has shown that this industry, which is almost a century in the making, is finally coming of age. Major players are finding more nascent applications and new entries are progressing out of semi-commercial prototypes and into full market launches.

While in Santa Clara for the IDTechEx Show, technology analyst Dr David Pugh met with staff at Levi's Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers. The 68,500 capacity stadium was opened in 2014 and is one of the most technologically enabled entertainment venues in the world.

From the Exhibition Hall at the IDTechEx Show! in Santa Clara last week came a wide variety of new product announcements and press releases. Here we summarize some of the announcements.

Researched in late 2016 with ongoing updates, the new IDTechEx report on the Internet of Things is intended to assist investors, participants and intending participants and users.

Debuts in North America; Event Also Features Presentations from Major Car Companies Including Ford, Nissan, Porsche and Toyota

Watch our preview of the IDTechEx Show! coming up in Santa Clara on Nov. 16-17 (www.idtechex.com/usa).

Cornerstone presentations at North America's largest event on emerging technologies cover how new technologies are addressing world's biggest needs

IDTechEx has released a newly researched report, "Internet of Things 2017-2027".

IDTechEx Research analysis showed that the conductive ink business was on the cusp of rapid and comprehensive change. Changing business dynamics has forced many suppliers to change strategy, focusing on many emerging and nascent applications in the hope that some will grow in the future to compensate for the commoditization and/or decline in core markets. In this article, we bring you an update on some of the latest trends and developments.

Senior executives from Unilever, Kellogg, Toyota, Google, Boeing, Coca-Cola and Bayer will be providing industry insights at next month's IDTechEx Printed Electronics USA conference and exhibition , to be held Nov.16-17 in Santa Clara, CA. 

Major focus is batteries with new form factors.

IDTechEx Research has been closely following the ITO alternative market for the past five years. It forecasts that ITO alternative solutions will reach more than $250m by 2026. In this article, IDTechEx Research brings you an update on conductive ink-based metal mesh films.

The South Korean giant Samsung just got itself into dire straits as the story behind the reported battery fires related to the Galaxy Note 7 unfolds even further. As of September, 92 accidents have been reported in the US alone.

IDTechEx Research has been following and analysing the conductive inks and pastes market for many years. It finds that this $1.3bn* market is subject to major change with long-lasting consequences on the business models of many large incumbent suppliers.

With hype around some of the core wearable technology sectors beginning to wane, IDTechEx have released their latest analysis of this diverse and growing industry in their brand new report Wearable Technology 2016-2026.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are now making a steady but quiet comeback.

The TCF industry has recently experienced sluggish growth. The industry has transitioned from being supply-limited to being commoditized and demand-limited with supply currently outstripping demand. This is a commonplace characteristic of supply industry into consumer electronic devices: there is often a scramble for supplies as demand rapidly takes off but the industry soon over-invests, the capacity overshoots demand, and competition renders the component a commodity.

The unique new IDTechEx Research report, Microcontrollers and Single-board Computers 2016-2026, is the first to reveal the big picture developing from the close relationship between these devices. It provides newly researched forecasts leading to figures such as $300bn in 2026 for SBC alone.

Advancements in electronics technology are enabling medical electronic equipment designed for faster diagnosis, improved patient quality of life, and new drug-based therapies.