IoT impacts sensors market

The Internet of Things will spur wider adoption of sensors and actuators.

The sensors market is about to expand. Raimund Hahn, CEO of electronics wholesaler Rhino Inter Group, recently made a statement about the Internet of Things and how it is leading to the availability of "a wide range of sensors." Mobile devices have made sensors part of people's daily lives, especially in developed markets and for many in less developed economies.

Hahn seems to envision a world in which sensors of all kinds are working together to keep users informed of what is happening around them. "Smartphones could save lives if they were capable of sounding a fire alarm when lying on the user's bedside table at night," he said. He also suggested air pressure sensors could be added to smartphones to give more accurate weather reports and said cameras are an "unexploited sensor," referencing their ability to do things such as recognize faces and track eye movement.

The most popular sensors for mobile devices are accelerometers, which have been used in innovative ways in recent years. These sensors have been widely adopted to enable activity tracking in wearables.

Demand for sensors and actuators was not as great as anticipated in 2015, but the market is expected to stabilize this year. In March, IC Insights projected the optoelectronics, sensors/actuators and discrete semiconductors or O-S-D market would climb by 5 percent in 2016 to $70.2 billion, an improvement over last year's 3 percent growth. The sensors and actuators segment by itself is forecast to increase 4 percent this year. The O-S-D sector is doing better than the overall IC market, which fell 1 percent in 2015.