Sensors

As CES passed for another year we saw another wave of announcements and demonstrations without the topic reaching the limelight it will soon command.

Video interview with NanoVivo, Inc. at the IDTechEx Wearable USA exhibition.

IDTechEx attended the second innoLAE conference, which took place on the 1st and 2nd of February 2016 in Cambridge (UK). It was organised by the EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Large-Area Electronics.

IDTechEx interviewed Hong Choi, the CTO/R&D Manager at Kopin corporation. Kopin span out of MIT over 30 years ago, and has been developing microdisplay technologies, starting with a $55m DARPA project in the early 1990s. Today, the company is focused on the wearable technology market, and particularly on near-eye computing. This profile also mentions their work on high-capacity, SiO-C anode lithium-ion batteries, developed with Hitachi Maxell.

Video interview taken with the Holst Centre at the Printed Electronics USA event.

Hivox Biotek are a Taiwan-based company making wellness and healthcare devices, in particular several wearable devices including EMS patches, watches, blood pressure monitors and others. They sell around 2 million units annually, with a strong customer base in Asia, but also with sales via retail partners across the US and Europe.

Tangio PE is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sytek Enterprises, established in North Vancouver, BC in 1982, a manufacturer of printed Electronics, membrane switches, force sensors, graphic overlays and labels.

This profile concerns the smart eyewear work from Epson, and specifically the Moverio products. Epson have had smart eyewear products available on the market for several years, and continue to offer the BT-200 and the new Pro BT-2000 versions their eyewear platform on general sale. They are targeting the enterprise sector and have developed a reliable and mature platform described as 'a workhorse for any developer of specific applications in the augmented reality field'.

Video interview with Infratab at the Internet of Things Applications USA exhibition, part of the IDTechEx Show!

Healthcare practitioners may one day be able to physically screen for breast cancer using pressure-sensitive rubber gloves to detect tutors.

IDTechEx are expanding their research into advances in electronics packaging, which is included as part of advanced materials. The latest report "Electrically Conductive Adhesives 2016-2026" covers a range of solder-replacement technologies. An estimated 50,000 metric tons of tin-lead solder are currently used each year, but lead is being banned in more and more applications due to toxicity.

Video interview with Tangio Printed Electronics and the National Research Council Canada at the Printed Electronics USA event.

FlexEnable and ISORG have revealed the world's first large area flexible fingerprint sensor on plastic designed for biometric applications.

A simple breathalyser that will give diabetics a non invasive method for monitoring their daily glucose levels and has the potential to replace the 'prick test' methods used today.

Multitaction is a Finland-based large-area interactive display manufacturer. It's technology is based on optical (IR) vision systems. The main market is the enterprise segment. The key advantage is stems from the system's ability to create different large-scale shapes composed of an arbitrary arrangement of 50" displays. The system can also handle an unlimited number of users and different input types.

DuPont's activities in the space for In-mould electronics (IME) are described in this profile, focusing on the suite of materials the company has developed to address this emerging market.

Video interview with Sensoria at the IDTechEx Wearable USA event.

Interview with HZO at the IDTechEx Wearable USA event.

Video interview with Altierre from the IDTechEx Show!

Oculus VR is a US based virtual reality company that was acquired by Facebook for $2bn in March, 2014.