Wearable sensor market to hit $1bn in 2017

The global wearable sensor market is expected to record its first billion-dollar year in 2017, with growth in sales volumes outpacing the effect of commoditisation on margins, according to IDTechEx.

Billions of wearable electronic products are already being sold each year, but tough competition has been driving hardware prices down, the market research company said in a new report.

Popular wearable sensors include inertial measurement units, optical sensors, force/pressure/stretch sensors, temperature sensors, microphones, GPS and chemical and gas sensors.

The wearable sensor market can be divided into three waves, the first consisting of established devices with sensors developed decades ago, often originally for wearable products.

The second wave encompasses products that have been developed using technologies originally created for smartphones, and later adapted for mobile devices.

Finally, the third wave includes devices using advanced sensors made for wearables, taking into account properties including comfort, flexibility and low power consumption. These devices are often in the commercial evaluation or early commercial sales period today.

This year the largest category of wearables in terms of sales volumes will be second-wave devices, but third-wave devices are poised to take over from around 2022 and account for nearly half the market by 2028, the report predicts.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/alexey_boldin

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