IDTechEx features Printed Electronics, Wearable Tech, Energy Harvesting, IoT and 3D Printing

First was the significant investment from the materials community but now the equipment industry has turned its attention to printed electronics as a growth opportunity.

Structural electronics (SE) is one of the most important emerging technologies in this century.

Adds Experienced Manager to its Rapidly Growing Japan Team. Tokyo, Japan and Cambridge, UK - Oct. 20, 2014 - IDTechEx the leader in market research on emerging technologies today announced the expansion of its Japan office with the hiring of Mr. Yasuo Yamamoto as its head of business development in Japan.

In 2012 347 million people worldwide had diabetes according to the World Health Organization. Disposable glucose test strips have improved the lives of millions of diabetic patients who need to monitor their blood glucose level on a regular basis.

IDTechEx, the global market research, technology scouting and events firm, finds that in 2014 three technologies - OLED displays, sensors and conductive ink - make up 99% of the $23.97 billion market for printed, organic and flexible electronics.

OLED displays are the biggest opportunity for flexible encapsulation and for that reason IDTechEx has highlighted the most significant advances in the technology in its recently updated report on the topic "Barrier Layers for Flexible Electronics 2015-2025: Technologies, Markets, Forecasts".

The Apple Watch was officially announced earlier this month, with the promise that it will come with a flexible display. However, there is some confusion about what the term means and what the benefits are for consumers. Dr Guillaume Chansin, co-author of the IDTechEx report "OLED Display Forecasts 2014-2024: the rise of plastic and flexible displays" gives his view on flexible displays.

Electronics embedded within the structure of bridges, walkways, EVs, aircraft and more, have the potential to be a $60 billion market by 2025.

Over the past five years there have been a large number of companies developing Transparent Conductive Film (TCF) alternatives for Indium Tin Oxide (ITO). Including material providers and film providers, research and events firm IDTechEx has profiled almost 100 organizations working across more than 12 types of transparent conductive film technologies.

Graphene electrodes are one of the best prospects for enabling supercapacitors and superbatteries to take up to half of the lithium-ion battery market in 15 years - amounting to tens of billions of dollars yearly.

In this article we focus on the current status of the main printed electronics technologies for components in consumer goods and healthcare applications, providing for each one market drivers, case studies and key suppliers, cost structures and challenges.

Analyst views of the Internet of Things (IoT) vary drastically depending on how one defines the topic. As a result, there is the potential for much hyping.

Mobile phones and associated wearable electronics are now part of what is called the Internet of People. The Internet of Everything (IoE) is a term that describes the massively connected world ahead of us.

Wearable technology for humans is all the rage. As "the next big thing", it involves head-on clashes between some of the largest companies on the planet. Those interested in such technologies would therefore be wise to take a look at wearable technology for animals.

New research by IDTechEx in the report Graphene Markets, Technologies and Opportunities 2014-2024 External Link shows that graphene markets will grow from around $20 million in 2014 to more than $390 million in 2024, at the material level.

The heart of the e-textile business as it emerges is electric and electronic functionality from sensing to light emission, achieved entirely by use of e-fibers.

IDTechEx's report Organic Photovoltaics 2013-2023: Technologies, Markets, Players analyses the latest developments in this field. This report gives an overview of the greater photovoltaic business landscape, assesses the organic photovoltaic technology at material and component level, and delivers detailed market forecasts.

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.