Emerging technologies: here we are

We welcomed the new year with lists and analysis on the “eligible” 2019 top trends. IDTechEx, in its latest article “Technologies to Watch in 2019”, offered us a first opportunity to make the point of the situation, after the first quarter and the significant appointments with CES, in Las Vegas, and Integrated Systems Europe.
The global company’s Ceo, Rhagu Das, actually reflects on three well-known market sectors, which are also important to our readers and worth deeper considerations.
Bendable Displays: from dream to reality
It’s been no easy feat – making multiple layers of sensitive materials work reliably while the whole device is being flexed. The ‘supplier push’ for such displays is due to the increasing need to differentiate a relatively saturated smart phone and tablet market and enable higher pricing by offering something with added value. The ‘user pull’ comes from the ideal of having a large display when you need it but in a portable format. Many new foldable display products will come to market from 2019 but apps and user interface design now need to catch up.
The automotive revolution
“The automotive ivory tower is beginning to crumble” we can read in the IDTechEx document. For decades a few companies have dominated the automotive market. Today they are generally all mis-footed with high amounts of capital in the dying technology of internal combustion engines. Pure-play EV companies are racing forward without the ties of old technology legacy. Additionally, software and consumer electronic companies are automating vehicles resulting in a peak car scenario in 2030. China is vying for global vehicle domination through shrewd strategies and investments in electric power train vehicles and batteries.
Medical wearables
Providers are now switching to wearable devices with ongoing healthcare value. This is increasingly being supported by changes in regulation allowing the data from such devices to provide a valuable stream of medical information. New form factors are untethering patients from wired machines, such as heart rate monitoring skin patches; or overcoming the absurd need to continuously cut yourself to draw blood for glucose testing, thanks to continuous glucose sensors. Preventing and diagnosing quickly at the point of care is the priority of many – healthcare providers, governments and consumer electronics alike.
Follow us in the coming months to find out if IDTechEx was right!
www.IDTechEx.com