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Wearable Technology 2015-2025: Technologies, Markets, Forecasts
E-textiles, wearable electronics, medical diagnostics/telemedicine, smart glasses, smart wristbands and more
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Description
Contents, Table & Figures List
FAQs
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Wearable technology mainly concerns devices and apparel/textiles. Glasses, jewellery, headgear, belts, armwear, wristwear, legwear, footwear, skin patches, exoskeletons and e-textiles are involved and the device business is already large. As the wearable electronics business powers from $20 billion in 2015 to almost $70 billion in 2025, the dominant sector will remain the healthcare sector which merges medical, fitness and wellness. It has the largest number of big names such as Apple, Accenture, Adidas, Fujitsu, Nike, Philips, Reebok, Samsung, SAP and Roche behind the most promising new developments.
Fig. 1. Wearable electronics developers and manufacturers for healthcare by territory
Source: IDTechEx
By the end of the coming decade, advanced informatics as wearable electronics will match the healthcare market, with new healthcare and informatics devices promising billion dollar sales potential. However, truly disruptive new technology, in the form of e-textiles, will also begin to establish major sales in a few years' time and fashion, industrial, commercial and military applications will burgeon as a consequence. On the other hand, wearable infotainment will be increasingly commoditised by China, following its commoditisation of basic electronics wristwatches and earphones.
The world's largest electronics, software, services and medical companies are among the many giants clashing horns on this so-called "new mobile phone" meaning the next potentially huge market after mobile phones, though rarely a direct replacement. Indeed, the biggest opportunity is medical/health/fitness addressing many of the biggest challenges in society today. Even software companies are saying, "hardware is the new software" because apps can now be modules or hardwired disposables and the intellectual property of the new hardware, such as sensing, energy harvesting/storing woven fibres, may be more disruptive and easily protected. The huge wearable technology market is now entering a rapid growth phase. IDTechEx has examined leading indicators of future wearable technology sales such as relevant Google Trends, patent filings over the years, incidence of diabetes (treatment being a major sector of wearable technology already), cost reduction of the key enabling technologies, increase in functionality that is becoming possible and initial sales of new smart wristwear such as the Samsung watch and fitness monitors. All show that very rapid growth is in prospect.
Fig. 2. The two main types of wearable technology and their typical characteristics
Source: IDTechEx
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| 1. | EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS |
| 1.1. | What is it? |
| 1.1. | The two main types of wearable technology, their typical characteristics (though not all are exhibited by any one realisation) with examples and allied subjects. |
| 1.1. | Simple comparison of the two main types of wearable technology with examples |
| 1.2. | Global number of wearable electronic devices in billions 2015-2025 |
| 1.2. | Global number of wearable electronic devices in billions 2015-2025 |
| 1.2. | Wearable infotainment is huge and most-popularised but first to be commoditised |
| 1.3. | Apparel/textile wearable electronics is not about units sold |
| 1.3. | Ex-factory unit price of wearable electronic devices in US$ 2015-2025 with infotainment showing fastest price erosion continuing past trends |
| 1.3. | Ex-factory unit price of wearable electronic devices in US$ 2015-2025 with advanced infotainment showing fast price erosion following past trends and basic infotainment static in price as its previous severe price erosion has hit |
| 1.4. | Global market value of wearable electronic devices in US$ billions 2015-2025 |
| 1.4. | Global market value of wearable electronic devices in US$ billions 2015-2025 |
| 1.4. | Market for wearable electronic devices 2015-2025 |
| 1.5. | Wearable technology $50 billion i investment frenzy |
| 1.5. | Google trends for wearable technology |
| 1.5. | By applicational sector, the number of developers and manufacturers with largest sectors by market number and value for the future shown in red. |
| 1.6. | Examples of the surge of investment in wearable electronics |
| 1.6. | Oculus VR and Beats Electronics products |
| 1.6. | Common requirements |
| 1.7. | Typical technical needs |
| 1.7. | Some trends towards wearable electronics |
| 1.7. | Examples of wearable products that merge the functions medical, healthcare, fitness, wellness. |
| 1.8. | Some of the major global issues being tackled by wearable electronics for medical, healthcare, fitness, wellness. |
| 1.8. | IDTechEx adaptation of the Boston matrix for some product and technology sub-sectors of potentially mainstream wearable electronics. High market growth at top. |
| 1.8. | Merging of applications |
| 1.9. | The more heroic agenda |
| 1.9. | Regional bias of IDTechEx Boston matrix for wearable electronics. High market growth at top. |
| 1.9. | Some of the benefits brought by moving to wearable electronic and electric solutions are shown below |
| 1.10. | When the largest applicational sectors of advanced wearable electronics will first reach major sales levels |
| 1.10. | Location of wearable technology planned and offered by 550 manufacturers |
| 1.10. | Where the profit will be made |
| 1.11. | Clarity from the Boston IDTechEx matrix |
| 1.11. | Where 550 developers and manufacturers and manufacturers of wearable electronics want their products to go on the human body |
| 1.11. | Some impediments to the growth of a further large market for wearable electronics and some solutions with the most widespread problems impacting sales the most being highlighted in red |
| 1.12. | Some failures of wearable electronics with reasons |
| 1.12. | How apps and services still matter |
| 1.12. | Strong regional bias |
| 1.13. | Very fragmented industry |
| 1.13. | Watches go against the trend of people wanting bigger displays so they can do more with them |
| 1.13. | Some of the more significant technology integration that will be used in wearable electronics 2014-2024 |
| 1.14. | Examples of wearable electronics ideas, products and enabling materials with potential identified as over or under $5 billion |
| 1.14. | Google glass. Lenses are not essential. |
| 1.14. | Why software and services giants get involved |
| 1.15. | Trend to disposable |
| 1.15. | HID RFID buttons |
| 1.16. | Necomimi |
| 1.16. | Examples of types and multiple uses |
| 1.16.1. | Smart watches, internet enabled Timex, Sony, Samsung, Apple, Google |
| 1.16.2. | Google Glass, Android Wearable, Qualcomm collaboration USA |
| 1.16.3. | HID laundry buttons Switzerland |
| 1.16.4. | Neurowear Necomimi Japan, 4D Force Germany - brainwave monitoring and control |
| 1.16.5. | T-Ink heated and smart apparel USA |
| 1.16.6. | Nike, Adidas smart shoes, wristwear etc USA |
| 1.16.7. | Military exoskeletons |
| 1.17. | Impediments |
| 1.17. | 4D Force in action |
| 1.17.1. | Battery endurance before recharge |
| 1.17.2. | Cost |
| 1.18. | Failures |
| 1.18. | T-Ink heated apparel and its printed functionality USA |
| 1.19. | E-textile and flexible wearable sensors patent trends 1988-2013 |
| 1.19. | Key enabling technology |
| 1.20. | Market size and forecasts |
| 1.20. | Number of patent documents with the term "wearable sensor" by application year. |
| 1.20.1. | Wearable electronics market potential by type |
| 1.21. | Forecasts |
| 1.21. | Market share of leaders in wearable full body activity trackers |
| 1.21.1. | What sectors are meaningful in forecasts? |
| 1.21.2. | Wearable devices have numbers and unit value |
| 1.21.3. | Very different forecasts |
| 1.21.4. | Definitely a fast growing business |
| 1.21.5. | Wearable electronics as part of the mobile phone (cellphone) business |
| 1.21.6. | Wearable camera market |
| 1.22. | Vandrico Solutions view of the past and future |
| 1.22. | The big opportunity for connected devices according to Qualcomm |
| 1.23. | Plastic Logic view of wearables |
| 1.24. | One of the wearable camera leaders Ambarella has the following results following twelvefold growth since 2010 |
| 1.25. | Vandrico Solutions - the past |
| 1.26. | Vandrico Solutions - the present |
| 1.27. | Vandrico Solutions - the future |
| 2. | THE MOBILE PHONE BUSINESS EXPANDS TO WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY |
| 2.1. | Breakneck speed |
| 2.1. | Some statistics relevant to the potential for mobile phone use |
| 2.1. | Examples of identified future needs and need for improved hardware/firmware and/or system/infrastructure changes are needed to achieve them |
| 2.2. | Some emerging mobile phone candidate technologies and the demands they may help to satisfy in the future |
| 2.2. | Tightly rollable display promised by Samsung |
| 2.2. | Needs driven by new behaviour and demographics |
| 2.3. | Future needs |
| 2.3. | Structure of the value offering of IPS vs RTLS |
| 2.4. | IPS principle of operation |
| 2.4. | Technology required |
| 2.5. | Hardware is key for future mobile phones |
| 2.5. | GPS location (left) compared with the more detailed IPS (right) |
| 2.5.1. | Unique hardware gains market share |
| 2.5.2. | Sensor fusion for positioning |
| 2.5.3. | Inertial navigation |
| 2.5.4. | Tipping the balance |
| 2.5.5. | The race for flexible wearable phones |
| 2.6. | Healthcare diagnostics and more |
| 2.6. | Digital cash options |
| 2.7. | Power requirements of small electronic products including Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) and GSM mobile phones and the types of battery employed |
| 2.7. | Sensor fusion |
| 2.8. | Internet of Things |
| 2.9. | Indoor Positioning Systems IPS |
| 2.9.1. | Location then full positioning even in 3D |
| 2.10. | Near Field Communication NFC |
| 2.11. | Key enabling technologies - hardware |
| 2.12. | Electrical power, multiple energy harvesting |
| 2.13. | Impediments to progress |
| 2.14. | The dark side |
| 2.15. | Why mobile phones may stay a bigger market than their wearable derivatives |
| 2.16. | Lessons from Samsung Future Technology Needs, London 16 June 2014 |
| 2.17. | Structural components are the future |
| 3. | WEARABLE ELECTRONICS AS PART OF THE SENSOR BUSINESS |
| 3.1. | Sensors |
| 3.1. | Emerging wearable MEMS sensor technologies and applications |
| 3.2. | Diabetes epidemic in figures |
| 3.2. | Healthcare |
| 4. | WEARABLE ELECTRONICS AS PART OF THE WRISTWATCH MARKET |
| 4.1. | Swiss watch production mechanical vs electronic |
| 4.1. | Watch industry statistics |
| 4.2. | Basic wristwatches: number billion, $ unit price ex-factory, total yearly market value $ billion 2014 |
| 4.2. | Wristwatch market including mechanical watches |
| 5. | PRINTED ELECTRONICS ENABLES WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY |
| 5.1. | Market potential and profitability |
| 5.1. | Market forecast by component type for 2015-2025 in US$ billions, for printed and potentially printed electronics including organic, inorganic and composites |
| 5.1. | Description and analysis of the main technology components of printed and potentially printed electronics |
| 5.2. | Current opportunity, market size and profitability |
| 5.2. | Market value US$ billions of only printed electronics 2015-2025 |
| 5.2. | Total market size 2015 to 2025 |
| 5.3. | Printed versus non-printed electronics |
| 5.3. | Total market value of printed versus non-printed electronics 2015-2025 US$ billion |
| 5.3. | Market forecast by component type for 2015-2025 in US$ billions, for printed and potentially printed electronics including organic, inorganic and composites |
| 5.4. | Market value US$ billions of only printed electronics 2015-2025 |
| 5.4. | Market value US$ billions of only flexible/conformal electronics 2015-2025 |
| 5.4. | Flexible/conformal versus rigid electronics |
| 5.5. | Market by territory |
| 5.5. | Total market value of flexible versus non-flexible electronics 2015-2025 in US$ billion |
| 5.5. | Total market value of printed versus non-printed electronics 2015-2025 US$ billion |
| 5.6. | Market value US$ billions of only flexible/conformal electronics 2015-2025 |
| 5.6. | Market by Territory 2015-2025 in US$ billion |
| 5.6. | The long term view |
| 5.7. | Examples of organic and inorganic electronics and electrics potentially tackling different technologies and applications |
| 5.7. | Total market value of flexible/conformal versus rigid electronics 2015-2025 in US$ billion |
| 5.8. | The market for printed and potentially printed electronics by territory in US$ billion 2015-2025 |
| 5.8. | The potential annual global sales of each type by 2025 in US$ billions and percentage |
| 5.9. | The potential annual global sales of each type by 2035 in US$ billions |
| 5.9. | Possible breakdown of the market for printed and potentially printed electronics in 2035 |
| 6. | RFID (RADIO FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION) IS USED IN WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY |
| 6.1. | RFID market 2014-2024 |
| 6.1. | Total RFID Market Projections in US dollar billions 2012-2024 |
| 6.2. | Market Size by Application type $ billions 2014-2024 |
| 6.2. | Market size by application type 2012-2024 |
| 7. | ANALYSIS OF OVER 800 DEVELOPERS AND MANUFACTURERS OF WEARABLE ELECTRONICS BY APPLICATION |
| 7.1. | Enabling technologies - global distribution |
| 7.1. | Technology examples: Flexible batteries |
| 7.1. | Global distribution of some generally useful technologies by organisation. |
| 7.2. | Examples of wearable electronics developers and manufacturers for healthcare including medical, fitness, wellness and heated apparel. Shown in red are examples of advanced technology likely to be the basis of billions of dollars o |
| 7.2. | Technology examples: Flexible components |
| 7.2. | Healthcare, fitness and related sectors - global distribution |
| 7.3. | Infotainment - global distribution |
| 7.3. | Technology examples: Maker companies with open-source products designed for wearables |
| 7.3. | Examples of wearable electronics developers and manufacturers for infotainment. Shown in red are some of the technologies likely to power billions of dollars of extra market over the coming decade, though not on their own. |
| 7.4. | Examples of wearable electronics developers and manufacturers for industrial, emergency services, commercial laundry, schools, prisons, clubs and military purposes. The full number is of the order of three hundred. Shown in red ar |
| 7.4. | Global distribution of some generally useful technologies by country |
| 7.4. | Industrial, commercial, public services and military - global distribution |
| 7.5. | Fashion, apparel and others - global distribution |
| 7.5. | Global distribution of some generally useful technologies by territory |
| 7.5. | Wearable electronics developers and manufacturers in fashion and apparel not primarily medical, healthcare, fitness, wellness, military, industrial, commercial. The true number is of the order of two hundred. Some advanced technol |
| 7.6. | Product examples: Bionics and Prosthetics |
| 7.6. | Total global distribution of companies |
| 7.7. | Product examples: Eyewear |
| 7.8. | Product examples: Clothing integrated electronics and sensors |
| 7.9. | Product examples: Haptic sensors for use in the sole of shoes |
| 7.10. | Product examples: RFID tagging for healthcare patients, infant identification and other applications |
| 7.11. | Product examples: Heated Clothing |
| 7.12. | Product examples: Fabric/textile integrated sensor systems for sports and health monitoring |
| 7.13. | Product examples: Wristwear fitness trackers for fitness |
| 7.14. | Product examples: Wrist and head-worn wearables for healthcare monitoring and treatments |
| 7.15. | Product examples: Body mounted sensors for healthcare and medical sensors. Proteus make an ingestible sensor which is included here for reference. |
| 7.16. | Product examples: Google's contact lens sensors proposed for glucose monitoring |
| 7.17. | Product examples: Wearable tech products for sports monitoring |
| 7.18. | Wearable electronics developers and manufacturers for healthcare by country |
| 7.19. | Wearable electronics developers and manufacturers for healthcare by territory |
| 7.20. | Product examples: Smartwatches |
| 7.21. | Product examples: Transparent and Flexible display smartwatch concepts |
| 7.22. | Product examples: EEG Brainwave monitoring products |
| 7.23. | Product examples: Eyewear and headwear cameras |
| 7.24. | Product examples: Location and safety devices aimed at children and the venerable |
| 7.25. | Product examples: Virtual Reality headwear devices |
| 7.26. | Product examples: Others, including energy harvesting wellington boots from GotWind and Orange, the wearable automatic voice translator from Sigmo, and the haptic gaming vest from ARAIG (As Real As It Gets) |
| 7.27. | Wearable electronics developers and manufacturers for infotainment by country |
| 7.28. | Wearable electronics developers and manufacturers for infotainment by territory |
| 7.29. | Product examples: Emergency Services, including wearable lighting for extra visibility, and smart, electronics integrated fabrics for firefighters and bomb disposal teams |
| 7.30. | Product examples: RFID tagging for commercial laundry services |
| 7.31. | Product examples: Personal protection bracelets. The Civil Rights Defenders wristband is a GPS-enabled panic alarm which will activate on cue or when removed, used by aid workers. SCRAM Systems' band is for security tagging, inclu |
| 7.32. | Product examples: Head mounted VR displays for military use |
| 7.33. | Wearable electronics developers and manufacturers for industrial, emergency services, commercial laundry, schools, prisons, clubs and military purposes by country |
| 7.34. | Wearable electronics developers and manufacturers for industrial, emergency services, commercial laundry, schools, prisons, clubs and military purposes by territory |
| 7.35. | Product examples: LEDs incorporated within clothing and fashion items |
| 7.36. | Product examples: Interactive clothing and fashion items |
| 7.37. | Product examples: Jewellery |
| 7.38. | Product examples: Wearable fashion from CuteCircuit |
| 7.39. | Wearable electronics developers and manufacturers in fashion and apparel not primarily medical, healthcare, fitness, wellness, military, industrial, commercial by country |
| 7.40. | Wearable electronics developers and manufacturers in fashion and apparel not primarily medical, healthcare, fitness, wellness, military, industrial, commercial by territory |
| 7.41. | Total global wearable electronics developers and manufacturers by country |
| 7.42. | Total global wearable electronics developers and manufacturers by territory |
| 8. | ANALYSIS BY LOCATION ON THE PERSON |
| 8.1. | Location of the wearable technology on the person |
| 8.2. | Global distribution of wearables for each body location. "Body" includes body worn sensors, clothing, necklaces, leg wear and anything not included within the other categories. This data includes commoditized basic electronics ite |
| 8.3. | The regional distribution of wearable technologies organisations, showing breakdown by application sector for each region. |
| 9. | INTERVIEWS AND CONFERENCE REPORT |
| 9.1. | Interviews |
| 9.1. | Wearable technology value chain and issues |
| 9.1.1. | Accenture USA |
| 9.1.2. | Anitra Technologies UG Germany |
| 9.1.3. | Antje Paul Knessel Netherlands and Germany |
| 9.1.4. | Conductr Canada |
| 9.1.5. | Eeonyx Corporation |
| 9.1.6. | Eyeqido Germany |
| 9.1.7. | ICE Germany |
| 9.1.8. | Intel USA |
| 9.1.9. | NanJing KeLiWei Electronic Equipment China |
| 9.1.10. | Sony Japan |
| 9.1.11. | Sunfriend Corp |
| 9.1.12. | SwiftAlarm Germany |
| 9.1.13. | ULOCS Sweden |
| 9.2. | IDTechEx company profiles |
| 9.2. | EnOcean conclusions |
| 9.2.1. | adidas |
| 9.2.2. | MC10 |
| 9.2.3. | Reebok International |
| 9.3. | Report on Wearable Technology Conference Munich Germany |
| 9.3. | Forms of wearable today |
| 9.4. | Trend of healthcare |
| 9.4. | Report on Wearable Tech London |
| 9.5. | Nick Hunn slides |
| 9.6. | Samsung and ST Microelectronics slides |
| 9.7. | Texas Instruments slides |
| 9.8. | Qualcomm and Bosch slides |
| 9.9. | Roche Accu-Check |
| IDTECHEX RESEARCH REPORTS AND CONSULTANCY | |
| TABLES | |
| FIGURES |
The market for wearable technology will reach $70 billion by 2025
Report Statistics
| Pages | 198 |
|---|---|
| Tables | 34 |
| Figures | 101 |
| Forecasts to | 2025 |
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