By Sindhu Bhattarai

Previously, I wrote about how the automation industry is booming with every passing day. Robots, automated vehicles, automated machines and devices are taking over workplaces and factories. With the growing automation industry, the sensor industry and its demand are also growing. Allied Market Research defines a sensor as “a device that detects, measures or indicates any specific physical quantity such as light, heat, motion, moisture, pressure, or similar entities, by converting them into any other form which is mostly electrical pulses.” Every automated product needs a sensor to function.

Sensor systems and electronic instrumentations are highest growing in the semiconductor market. Sensors have a vast array of applications in electronics, industrial automation, avionics, military, mobile devices, consumer electronics, building and infrastructure, medical equipment, security, transportation, IT infrastructure and communication, among others. Sensor technology is evolving consistently and is an integral part of all the major industries.

According to Allied Market Research, the global market is expected to garner $241 billion by 2022, registering a CAGR of 11.3% during the period of 2016-2022. Sensor Market Report 2016 indicates that the sensor market contributes over 45 percent to the global market. Advancements in consumer electronics products, growing usage of all sorts of sensors in smart phones, technological evolution, strong demand in the automation industry, demand of wearables, and the growing adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT) are some major drivers for this boom.

Technological advances in electronic control systems, decreasing cost expectations, miniaturization, and improved communication capabilities will drive remarkable growth across all segments of the sensors market for the foreseeable future. More and more businesses are adding sensors to people, places, processes and products to gather and analyze information to make better decisions and increase transparency.

Within the body sensor market, the demand for adding fingerprint sensors to smartphones has been ever-increasing, and keeping up with the trend, fingerprint scanner-capable smartphone shipments are estimated to cross a billion units in 2018. North America is the most profitable region, with demand for body sensor expected to grow at an impressive CAGR of 16.7% during the forecast period of 2017 to 2022. Due to strong demand from the U.S., the body sensor market in North America is estimated to be worth $100.9 million by 2022. Similarly, we can take a look at the global image sensor market. It was valued at around $11.43 billion in 2016 and is expected to reach approximately $20.81 billion in 2022, growing at a CAGR of approximately 10.5% between 2017 and 2022.

Trillions of sensors will be required to power the billions of connected devices in the market. Investing in the sensor market may be a good move as it is rapidly expanding!