Metallization of 3D surfaces is a growing field with diverse applications. In this article, Dr Khasha Ghaffarzadeh, Research Director at IDTechEx, will briefly discuss some techniques and applications for 3D electronics.

Empty supermarket shelves have become a common sight in recent weeks, as the world continues to deal with the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic and worries about food shortages continue. Supermarkets are struggling to cope with surging demand stemming from panic buying, with customers stripping shelves bare within hours of supermarkets opening.

The EV market is growing rapidly, and with it the demand for fast charging, increased energy density and improved safety. Something that all these areas have in common is heat. Charging a battery quickly generates a lot of heat, with the extra energy capacity of modern and upcoming electric vehicle batteries, extracting this heat becomes more challenging.

In its recently published report ‘Innovations in Robotic Surgery 2020-2030’, IDTechEx forecasted that the robotic surgery market will reach over $12 billion by 2030. The report breaks down the market landscape and emerging technologies in the field of robotic surgery.

Electrics and robotics squares the circle of seeking a wider variety of depleting materials in nastier, more remote places from the seafloor to four kilometres underground, up remote mountains and later outer space. Zero-emission microgrids on-site, sensors everywhere and new information and communications technology lubricate the process.

Analysts at the technology consulting firm IDTechEx are tracking more than 100 companies that develop 3D automotive lidar modules. The tally was at 107 and counting by November 2019, and most companies position their business as automotive Tier 2 suppliers.

Vertical farming is the practice of growing plants indoors under fully controlled environmental conditions in many stacked layers, using artificial lighting instead of relying on the sun. By tuning the growing environment to the exact needs of the plant and using soil-free growing techniques, this method of farming can achieve yields hundreds of times higher than conventional agriculture, 365 days a year and without requiring pesticides.

In the past decade, Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) has attracted significant attention as it holds the potential to disrupt the business model of the traditional automotive industry and the way people travel.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death worldwide, with over 17 million per year according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). This represents approximately 31% of global deaths. Many forms of CVD are chronic in nature, meaning that they worsen over time. Thus, once the disease has been diagnosed it is important to initiate treatment as soon as possible in order to provide positive patient outcomes.

One of the fastest growing segments within the $64bn wearable technology industry will be medical wearables, which will grow to $19.7bn in 2024, according to IDTechEx Research. Healthcare Sensor Innovations 2020, hosted in San Jose on March 17th to 18th, identifies and assesses the opportunities for printed and flexible electronics in healthcare as the technology enables a new wave of medical wearable devices. 

While there has been steady growth in the adoption of battery electric vehicles (BEVs), mass adoption requires improvements to both range and cost. Improved performance and cost of Li-ion batteries (LIBs) plays a big role in providing this and considerable investment is being poured into the research and development of the next generation of LIBs. 

IDTechEx Research have reviewed the potential evolution roadmap of material technologies in emissive displays. First, fluorescent OLED materials were developed. These offered narrow emission, maturity, and stability, but suffered from low internal quantum efficiency (IQE) due to their inability to harvest the so-called triplet states.

Electric vehicles by land, water and air are rapidly arriving and rapidly being misunderstood. For example, the battery cost will be overtaken by the other electricity management from the solar bodywork on your Tesla pick-up truck, its motors, power electronics. Motors last forever? No. We now push motors so hard they wear out, increasing sales. 

3D printing has been touted as being a manufacturing cure-all for a whole host of different applications. The reality is very different, but this doesn’t stop the onslaught of news articles proclaiming 3D printing to be the answer. Here’s a roundup of the weird and wonderful world of 3D printing in 2019.

IDTechEx has issued an in-depth report called, ‘Robot Shuttles and Autonomous Buses 2020-2040’. Robot shuttles are an important new, reconfigurable form of transportation for goods and people that may even function as mobile offices, workshops, restaurants and more. It finds that the heart of the subject is upright, boxy, eight to 20 person vehicles that are symmetrical like a small train so they never do a U turn.

Here come previously impossible devices and structures. The new IDTechEx report, ‘Smart Material Opportunities in Structural Electronics 2020-2030’ has analysed and forecasted a remarkable $200bn materials opportunity by making dumb structures smart. Save weight, space and cost. Eliminate maintenance.

Along with the rest of the automotive sector, the medium and heavy-duty truck market is evolving. Governments around the world, recognising the potentially catastrophic repercussions of unfettered climate change and witnessing the detrimental impact on human health from vehicle exhaust pollutant emissions in urban environments, are taking decisive action, that will, in the coming decades, drive vehicle manufacturers to zero on-road exhaust emissi...

Last mile delivery is the most expensive part of the delivery chain, often representing more than 50% of the overall cost. This is mainly because it is the least productive and automated step. As such, many are seeking to bring automation into the last mile. In recent years, many companies around the world have been innovating to utilise autonomous mobile robots, drones, and autonomous vehicle technology. By: Dr Khasha Ghaffarzadeh, Researc...

XR, or extended reality, products are at the forefront of technological change. Virtual reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR). With so many different XR products now available for a variety of use cases, it is important to understand how the different technologies are used, and companies which create them.

IDTechEx Technology Analyst Dr David Wyatt has recently published a report update ‘Electric Truck 2020-2030’, focusing on electrification in the medium and heavy-duty truck markets, providing a comprehensive set of market forecasts.