Skin analysis technologies, devices that diagnose skin health and appearance, are facing a time of transformation. Routinely used in the laboratory for research of skin conditions and development of products, skin analysis technologies are now being brought to the homes of consumers. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced shoppers online, driving huge demand for home delivery. Moreover, growth has the potential to resume beyond the pandemic: in addition to consumer goods, the genie is out the bottle for home grocery delivery, which many consumers, having experienced it for the first time, will want to continue.

In the future, all materials scientists and chemists will have access to Machine Learning (ML) tools to enhance their R&D. Seamlessly integrating these underlying operations will not happen quickly, but overlooking the developments in materials informatics will lead to a loss of any competitive advantage.

Digital health has been widely anticipated to change the face of healthcare for many years. Substantial growth in investment, M&A, and IPO activity in the space have brought increasing confidence that the time for digital health has come. 

Automotive radar uptake in vehicles will continue its increase, driven both by an increase in the number of adopting cars and by the radar content per vehicle. Both trends are driven by the increasing adoption of ADAS and will be sustained and strengthened in the longer term by the emergence of highly automated or autonomous driving.

In this webinar IDTechEx Chairman, Dr Peter Harrop, describes a large new opportunity for added value materials suppliers. Electronics and electrics are moving from components-in-a-box to user 'edit-able' composites, stretchable film and even paint. 

Estimates vary but we are certainly in $100bn, 100GW territory with the booming photovoltaic market. The new IDTechEx report, 'Electronics Reshaped 2020-2040' reveals solar market growth by new capabilities opening previously impossible applications. Well-rehearsed is how silicon is in the lead with massive Chinese investment likely to see single-crystal silicon usurp polycrystalline silicon as its newly affordable extra electricity output attrac...

In this webinar, Technology Analyst Dr Michael Dent will present an overview of IDTechEx's recent research into the crop biotechnology industry, focusing on the potential of genome editing to revolutionise the field.

Materials suppliers need to appraise opportunities at all power levels of energy harvesting. Those developing, making and using harvesters providing microwatts to GW need to see the big picture and how they can expand into it.

The market for 5G is expected to be over $72bn by 2030, with large scale roll-out of infrastructures and rapid adoption of 5G devices and services. Many characteristic benefits promised by 5G will operate at high frequency (above 26GHz), i.e. mmWave 5G. Such high frequency requires new materials and different device design.

You do not give a car battery to your children. It is dangerous. The same caution must be exercised as energy harvesting and storage arrives as electronics as paint. For example, a precursor of this is the InfinityPV adhesive solar tape you cut to any length, this determining voltage and power output.

The new IDTechEx report: 'Materials Opportunities in Emerging Photovoltaics 2020-2040', is based on interviews by multi-lingual, PhD level IDTechEx analysts across the world and 20 years tracking the research and applications. They predict $38bn in 2040 without colliding with the silicon-in-glass 'power station' business. There will be many opportunities for premium pricing of its new specialist materials.

IDTechEx reports that the robotic surgery market will reach over $12bn by 2030. Within this industry, catheter navigation is an emerging, but lesser-known application, that is rapidly gaining traction. IDTechEx's findings are detailed in the recently published report 'Innovations in Robotic Surgery 2020-2030: Technologies, Players & Markets'. 

The bus market is at a crossroads. The pressing need for cities around the world to improve air quality, alongside commitments by many governments to address climate change, are powering plans to deliver zero on-road emission battery electric city bus solutions. Over the next decade these efforts will see major cities increasingly refuse to purchase anything but zero-emission buses, as they deliver on promised zero-emission zones to protect the h...

The 5G market is expanding rapidly, with the first installations already being demonstrated. The increasing deployment of 5G will generate innovation and growth opportunities in thermal management. The shift to higher frequencies, and the accompanied higher signal loss, necessitates the densification of network installations, hence, utilising many more small-sized (pico or femto) stations. This acts to multiply the potential market for 5G infrast...

The developments in agricultural robots, machine vision, and AI will drive a deep and far-reaching transformation of the way farming is carried out. Yes, today the fleet sizes and the total area covered by new robots are still vanishingly small compared to the global agricultural industry. However, this should not lull the players into a false sense of security because the ground is slowly but surely shifting. Robotics and AI are enabling a revol...

Fuel cells able to convert hydrogen into electricity are called to play an important role in the energy transition towards a future with zero-emissions. In reverse mode, electrolysis cells can convert water into hydrogen by using electricity. By Dr Peter Harrop, Chairman of IDTechEx

During the COVID-19 outbreak, the automotive industry has been hit hard by shutdowns of factories and sales around the world. The pandemic has slowed down global car sales and is shifting consumer behaviours in travel. Over the long term, COVID-19 could have a lasting impact on the mobility landscape.

Picture a flexible circuit board (FPCB) and you will almost inevitably visualise a sheet of orange/brown plastic, probably with a few copper traces and maybe some soldered components on it. This plastic is PI (polyimide/Kapton), and its ubiquity is primarily due to its temperature resistance and general durability.

With the rapid adoption of electric vehicles (EVs), the demand for Li-ion batteries will grow significantly in the coming decades. In the meanwhile, as EV batteries begin to reach their end-of-life, we will see an exponential growth of retired Li-ion batteries coming out of vehicles.