Wednesday 16 September 2020 - Seeing Is Believing: The Truth Behind the Optics and Displays of AR/MR/VR. Why do optics and displays Matter? What are the key properties in choosing an optical set-up? What are the key properties in choosing a micro-display? Where are these markets going in the next decade?

What do you now purchase by the kilowatt hour? The new supercapacitors replacing batteries. The new IDTechEx report, "Supercapacitor Markets, Technology Roadmap, Opportunities 2021-2041", shows how supercapacitors have started to replace 10% of lithium-ion batteries and help kill lead-acid.

The new IDTechEx report, "Optics and Displays in AR, VR, and MR 2020-2030: Technologies, Players and Markets", covers the complete range of optics and display technologies which are used in spatial reality products.

The battery industry has experienced enormous innovation and investment with the demand mainly from electric vehicles and energy storage systems. The 1,500 GWh market demand in 2030 indicates huge potential for batteries.

Metal additive manufacturing has seen many trends over recent years including pushing the (build) envelope & deposition rate to higher levels, broadening the materials portfolio, and expanding into new markets. One trend that cannot be overlooked is the number of product launches for low-cost "desktop" variants; the question is will they be successful?

IDTechEx have released a new research report, "Skin Sensors 2020- 2030: Technologies, Markets, Players, Forecasts".

Mention an electronic circuit and you are likely to picture a printed circuit board (PCB): a rigid rectangle in a characteristic green color with copper lines and a bewildering array of components soldered onto it. But does adding electronic functionality means using a PCB and thus requires shoehorning a rigid rectangle into the product?

Thursday 20 August 2020 - Metal Additive Manufacturing: Short-Term Pain, Long-Term Gain - This webinar includes: Overview of latest market forecast and key trends; Technology benchmarking and new entrant analysis; Latest in material considerations and supply chain progressions; and Deep-dive into relevant sectors and the impact of COVID-19.

With an increase in temperature, there is an increase in demand for tap water. One area which is affected is the South West Water network, with water shortages across Sussex and up to 300 households left without tap water for five days. But could this have been averted? Yes - it could.

The new IDTechEx report, "Sensors 2021-2041" uniquely analyses the whole subject in the light of such seismic changes as the COVID-19 virus. The sensor business is in turmoil. The industries that spend most on sensors are changing as are the sensors.

The metal additive manufacturing market will be negatively impacted by the 2020 pandemic. Despite this short-to-mid-term setback, the industry is forecast to rise and exceed $10Bn within the next 10-years. The emerging and established printer players grab nearly all of the headlines, but most of this forecast annual revenue will be in material sales in which there is great untapped potential.

In the past two decades, the car market has declined twice: first due to the 2008 economic crisis, and then due to falling sales in China. Most recently, the lockdowns implemented to combat the coronavirus pandemic, causing auto-production plants to close globally and a loss of consumer spending will lead to an unprecedented 23% decline in 2020 (IDTechEx prediction).

Nearly every sector is proposing the use of artificial intelligence. Materials science R&D is relatively late to this trend, and there are many industry-specific hurdles, but the opportunities are beginning to be realized and the potential impact is significant.

Tuesday 11 August - The electric car market is facing fresh, unforeseen challenges in 2020, and in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, electric vehicles with a higher upfront price are a hard sell. How is the industry, and how are governments, responding? Are electric cars de-railed from their pre-coronavirus trajectory?

MicroLED, believed by many to be the next generation of display technology, has been pursued by players of LED, display, OEM, materials and so on. Differentiated from LCD and OLED, microLED is considered to be the only display technology that has no size limitation. What are the potential applications?

Deep learning has revolutionized image recognition and analysis, making unprecedented performance leaps between 2010-2014. These rapid advancements enabled the development of automated, accurate, accessible, and cost-effective medical diagnostics.

In the future, all materials scientists and chemists will have access to machine learning tools to enhance their R&D. Seamlessly integrating these underlying operations will not happen quickly, but overlooking the developments in materials informatics will lead to a loss of any competitive advantage.

"Passing $2bn by 2030, energy harvesting modules become key to smartwatches, IoT and more" IDTechEx Chairman, Dr Peter Harrop shares some of the research from IDTechEx report: "Energy Harvesting for Electronic Devices 2020-2040 Materials, self-charging device opportunities, technology roadmaps, forecasts"

Estimates vary but we are certainly in $100 billion, 100GW territory with the booming photovoltaic market. The new IDTechEx report, "Electronics Reshaped 2020-2040" reveals solar market growth by new capabilities opening previously impossible applications.

Solid-state batteries keep attracting tremendous attention and investment with the maturing technologies and closeness to mass production. Even with the influence of COVID-19, the potential market size is expected to grow to over $6 billion by 2030 according to IDTechEx.