Research Articles

Following the release of the brand new IDTechEx report, "Collaborative Robots (Cobots) 2023-2043: Technologies, Players & Markets", Yulin Wang (Technology Analyst at IDTechEx) explores Industry 5.0 and the impact on the collaborative robot market.

As of mid-2022, the global graphene and graphene oxide installed capacity easily exceeds 12,000 tonnes per year, but utilization is low as the orders lag significantly behind. Is this a natural part of the commercial journey, or has hype overcome reality? Is this a case of "build it, they will come", or are there real market needs? What does the future hold for these graphene manufacturers? IDTechEx provides an independent perspective on these questions and more.

Thursday 22 September 2022 - This webinar will discuss the sectors that 3D printing is currently having success in; analyze the barriers limiting additive manufacturing adoption in other industries; highlight the applications where 3D printing has high growth potential; and present IDTechEx's outlook for the AM market

Since its inception, DNA sequencing has brought about major advancements in our understanding of biology. The breadth of information this technology can offer has the potential to revolutionize healthcare, drug discovery, and many other fields.

Before Google Glass first hit public testing in 2013, the word "glasshole" had already been coined. Referring to someone who uses an augmented reality (AR) headset inconsiderately, this term eloquently expresses the difficulty in achieving social acceptability.

Thursday 8 September 2022 - 3D lidar market segment; Lidar for autonomous driving and ADAS; Technology analysis between TOF and FMCW; Technology analysis of different beam steering technologies such as mechanical lidar, MEMS, OPA, Flash and other solid-state lidars; Technology analysis of laser and receiver choices; Major players; Market outlook

The past decade has seen an ever-increasing number of companies within the graphene market, with a seemingly constant stream of new material suppliers appearing. As is the case for any well-established industry, market stability and profitability are expected to go hand in hand with the emergence of a handful of dominant players within the material supply chain.

IDTechEx believes that Europe will remain a charging dominant region with a focus on DC fast charging deployment, and the number of swapping stations will remain small.

In the shadows of a silicon-dominated field, other photovoltaic (PV) technologies have been edging closer to the spotlight.

Thursday 15 September 2022 - Overview of the broad graphene material family and different manufacturing processes; Graphene market status and outlook; Comparison to incumbent conductive carbon additives; A deep dive into 8 significant application areas with examples, pain points, and market outlook; and much more!

The new IDTechEx report, "Heavy-Duty Autonomous Vehicles 2023-2043: Trucks, Buses & Roboshuttles", has found significant activity in the autonomous heavy-duty and commercial vehicle space.

Despite the obstacles posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and persistent supply chain disruptions, the additive manufacturing market continues to find new applications and end-users. IDTechEx forecasts that 3D printing's continued innovation and meaningful adoption will lead the hardware and consumables market to surpass US$41 billion by 2033.

Thursday 1 September 2022 - What is the value of bioplastics in a circular economy? What trends have shifted to drive bioplastic growth? What are the needs bioplastics must meet and pain points to solve? What is the outlook for bioplastics in the next decade?

The current iteration of Li-ion batteries, which are based on graphite anodes, liquid electrolytes, and cathode materials such as NMC and LFP, are generally considered to be reaching their performance limits. However, from cell materials to battery designs, there are still several routes that can lead to further improvements in performance and cost.

Thursday 25 August 2022 - Analysis of advanced semiconductor packaging markets and their mid-long-term opportunity; Key applications' growth drivers; Player analysis - the dynamics of advanced semiconductor packaging battleground; Advanced semiconductor packaging technologies - current challenges and innovative trends

With increasing scrutiny of the environmental impact of current building practices, the electrification of mobile construction machinery offers construction companies a relatively near-term opportunity to demonstrate their environmental credentials.

While 2022 continues to add to the challenges electric vehicle (EV) makers face, markets are still growing. Indeed, electric car sales for the first half of 2022 reached ~3.5 million, according to IDTechEx research.

The automotive industry and many robotics start-ups have been promising that autonomous cars are just a couple of years away for many years now. It feels like this "just a couple of years" has been perpetually kicked down the road, with only incremental gains each time. However, Cruise, the robotaxi arm of General Motors, has recently been given approval to start charging passengers in San Francisco. So, is this an enormous leap forward for robotaxis, or just another incremental gain?

With the ever-increasing interest in Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and autonomous vehicles, adopting Light Detection and Ranging (Lidar) is an important decision to reach higher vehicle autonomy and better safety. The lidar market for automotive applications will grow to US$8.4 billion by 2033, according to IDTechEx report "Lidar 2023-2033: Technologies, Players, Markets & Forecasts".

If the future were to be categorized in one word, it would be "data-centric". IC vendors have been pushed towards "advanced semiconductor packaging" to meet the world's data needs.

As bioplastic materials transition from being a "nice-to-have" to materials with a very strong, viable business case, manufacturers are racing to keep up with demand. With all this activity, IDTechEx forecasts global annual bioplastics production capacity to grow at a CAGR of 10.1% over the next ten years.

Thursday 11 August 2022 - The 2021 sales of zero-emission trucks and the addressable market; What zero-emission trucks need to deliver for commercial rollout; Key enabling technologies: batteries/motors/charging; The role of battery and fuel cell trucks; IDTechEx's outlook for zero-emission truck deployment

2022 continues to present great challenges for electric vehicle makers, but despite these challenges electric vehicle markets have continued to grow. However, in an era of shortages, disruption is inevitable. IDTechEx believes improvements to drive cycle efficiency and vehicle design, minimizing battery capacity and other material requirements per vehicle, must come to the forefront.

In recent times, we have all experienced the value of diagnostics used in the comfort and ease of our own homes. Imagine if we could look for other infectious diseases just as easily, with less invasive, self-administered, highly accurate, and reliable tests. With the convergence of advances in telehealth and biotechnology, this is the direction that the diagnostics industry is heading towards.

Open vs closed materials systems: In this article, IDTechEx Technology Analyst Sona Dadhania discusses how the dichotomy between "open" materials systems and "closed" materials systems (also known as platforms or architectures) affects the growth and utilization of materials for additive manufacturing.

Vertical farming, the practice of growing crops indoors on vertically stacked layers, has received no small amount of interest over the last few years. The recent IDTechEx report, "Vertical Farming 2022-2032", details the economic and technological factors shaping this rapidly growing industry.

To date, the commercialization of graphene has been more of a "material push" rather than a "market pull"; a solution looking for a problem. In this first phase, there were numerous technical and commercial barriers to overcome, which in materials science does not happen overnight. IDTechEx believes that this is changing, with graphene entering the next stage, the growth phase, of its commercial journey.

Perovskite PV is an exciting new solar power technology. The new report published by IDTechEx, "Perovskite Photovoltaics 2023-2033", explores the commercialization potential of perovskite PV and identify the challenges remaining.

Thursday 4 August 2022 - Clarifying the definition and types of haptics; Use cases of haptics in different industries; Haptic technology benchmarking; Analysis of the current market landscape; Key market challenges in the short-term future; Key long-term market drivers; and Some key takeaways from IDTechEx forecasts

Razer, one of the leading global companies providing gaming hardware, announced the acquisition of 100% of the shares of Go Touch VR SAS, also known as Interhaptics, a French startup founded in 2017 and specialized in haptics tools and software. What does this tell us about trends in haptics?

Thursday 28 July 2022 - this free-to-attend webinar will include Autonomy and ADAS in the automotive market; Sensor suites; Thermal management challenges in ADAS; Thermal interface materials for ADAS; Radar radome materials; and Die attach for ADAS.

Insulin pumps offer several prominent benefits over other insulin delivery methods, so why are insulin pumps so rarely used today, as compared to other insulin delivery methods?

The vast majority of new trucks sold today are powered by diesel engines, but like other on-road vehicle segments, this is set to change.

Imagine a world where we not only upload pictures of our latest recipes, beauty products, and coffees - but also share their smell. The opportunities for digital smell could be vast, but what are they, and what gas sensor technology will enable it?

IDTechEx has released its latest report on haptics, projecting that the industry's annual revenue will grow to over US$5 billion by 2027 and will continue to increase through to 2033. Where should the industry be focusing to drive this growth?

The conductive fast-charging system as we know it today has drawbacks such as long dwell times, high power demand from the grid, availability and reliability issues, and the need for end-users to deal with heavy cables, dirty connectors, and buggy user interfaces. Battery-swapping is an emerging technology that aims to address all of these shortcomings.