Research Articles

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.

Thursday 21 July 2022 - Exploring the Dynamics of the $29.5 Billion 3D Printing Materials Market. Benchmarking relevant materials/players; identifying growth drivers and trends to watch for different classes of AM materials; examining key market activity; IDTechEx's market outlook for the industry

One of the major environmental issues facing the planet today is the rising levels of plastic consumption and waste. As carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions also soar, the emerging carbon capture and utilization (CCU) industry propose a solution for both issues: creating lower-carbon, degradable polymers using CO2 emissions as the feedstock.

Thursday 14 July 2022 - Perovskite Photovoltaics: The Solution to our Energy Needs? How perovskites can resolve technology gaps within the photovoltaics market; Discussion of difficulties facing the commercialisation; Overview of emerging applications and readiness levels; and roadmaps for the future of perovskite photovoltaics

Whilst much of the "5G" infrastructure is a moderate upgrade on existing 4G technology, there is still plenty of scope for higher frequency deployment such as mmWave devices and very different station types such as small cells. Each of these new developments presents its own technological evolution and with it, thermal challenges.

IDTechEx's new report, "Thermal Management for ADAS: 2023-2033" finds that the yearly market value for thermal interface materials (TIMs) in ADAS will increase 11-fold over the next 10 years.

Haptics 2023-2033: Technologies, Markets, and Players - Current and emerging technologies (ERM motors, LRAs, piezoelectric ceramics and polymers, surface haptics, SMAs, electroactive polymers, contactless haptics and thermal haptics), markets, forecasts, and players in haptics.

Nanomaterials remain a significant growth area with the potential to enable a wide range of next-generation technologies. This article will focus on CNT yarns and sheets before expanding on to high-aspect-ratio and hybrid materials; these are all at an earlier commercial stage than the main MWCNT market.

Virtual Reality (VR) headsets are edging toward becoming commonplace. However, social acceptability is still some way off and the user experience is not entirely comfortable. Essential to solving these problems are the lenses that magnify and focus headsets' displays.

Thermal Management for Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS) 2023-2033 - Thermal management challenges, solutions, and trends for cameras, radars, LiDARs, and automotive computers. Thermal interface materials, die attach, radome materials and electromagnetic interference, analysis, players, and market forecasts

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Thursday 7 July 2022 - IDTechEx will discuss how vertical farms can fit in with the coming age of agriculture. This webinar will include discussions on what vertical farms can bring to the agricultural industry, an overview of several limitations faced by the vertical farming industry today, and several possible methods for vertical farms to increase profitability

The growth potential for AM materials differs from printing equipment, as operational legacy printers continue to consume materials. Therefore, this segment of the 3D printing value chain represents a tremendous opportunity.

IDTechEx's new report, "Perovskite Photovoltaics 2023-2033", explores the diverse range of opportunities presented by perovskite PV, including gaps in demand, supply chain innovation, and emerging applications.

As prices of wheat, fuel, and fertilizer rise, the total costs for farmers have been increasing. Given the intensified financial struggle, together with higher demand for food production, improving farming efficiencies is imminent.

IDTechEx Analysts Dr James Edmondson, Yulin Wang and Zehao Li discuss emerging trends in logistics and service robotics.