As of January 2021, there were over 8 million sensor patents, with most of the new filings in the areas of automotive, consumer electronics and industrial, including manufacturing, logistics and IoT.
Even with many industries having been impacted dramatically by COVID-19, the global industry is expected to grow to $60B by 2022 – and to $130B by 2031.
Other industries projected to see significant increase in sensor use include aerospace, agriculture, construction, energy, health and wellness, medical, military, mining and transportation. This will include everything from robotics to emission controls, to power reduction to wearables to IoT and more.
Over the next 20 years, transportation will be huge consumers of sensors as automated buses, cars, trains and trucks become more reliable and are pressed into service.
In the meantime, there are two primary drivers of growth:
i) More sensors being used on devices or pieces of equipment, and ii) a plethora of new devices being introduced. In the area of diabetes control alone, it’s expected there’ll be +500 Million people interested in continuous glucose monitors.
In the short term, smart cities are continuing to evolve. Some experts believe that increased adoption of 5G, greater use of wearable tech, broader deployment of Ai and machine learning, as well as the need to monitor social distancing and implement health screenings have created a catalyst that will fast-track tech adoption the public sector.
This will also hold true in the private sector, especially when it comes to manufacturing.
Indeed, Deloitte says:
“With the introduction of reliable IoT platforms and advancements in technologies that have both accelerated performance and reduced costs, traditional barriers to smart sensor adoption are eroding. Companies should consider investing in smart sensors to increase value capture through their supply chains after carefully prioritizing their business objectives and defining their use cases.”
In our January posts on Sensors in Schools, Sensors Reduce Logistics Costs and Sensors Improve Operations and Bottom Line, we discuss how sensors can be used to improve operating efficiencies, environment while lowering operating costs.
For many organisations, the introduction of smart sensors can be a game changer. To fully leverage smart sensor technologies, however, requires…
- Seamless integration and interoperability of all key corporate platforms,
- Strong corporate protocols, policies and encryption of key data sets, and
- A robust and secure network that is audited regularly.
Even when there is buy-in from the top, in many organisations, IT leaders simply don’t have the bandwidth to take on these challenges and forgo the benefits of implementing smart sensor solutions.
That’s when it makes sense to bring in an expert.
If you’d like to discuss how sensors might improve your operations, please feel free to contact us at [email protected] or (416) 429-0796 or 1.877.238.9944 (Toll Free), even if you’re only looking for a knowledgeable shoulder on which to bounce some ideas.
