Exploring the wearable opportunities in the sensor market

Wearable devices are computing devices that can be installed on people, animals and objects and can sense, transmit and process information. Sensors are the core components of wearable devices. The sensors in wearable devices are an extension of human senses and enhance the human "sixth sense" function.

Upward growth trend

According to a report released by market research firm MarketsandMarkets, the global wearable device sensor market size reached US$1.6 billion in 2023, and is expected to grow to US$4.2 billion by 2028, with a compound annual growth rate of 21.1%.

It is reported that the driving force behind this trend is the growing demand for smaller, smarter and cheaper sensors, which makes it easier to integrate sensors into various smart devices, smartphones or cloud services, making the interpretation of data more convenient and meaningful.

In the past five years, the global Internet penetration rate has changed significantly. Now, almost one-third of the world's population is using the Internet with higher bandwidth, which has increased the number of connected smart devices in developing countries. In 2014, the global smartphone usage rate grew at a rate of about 25%, and smartphones are one of the most widely used portable devices in the wearable ecosystem. The trend of miniaturization, intelligence and low prices of sensors is becoming increasingly obvious, becoming an important driving force for the development of the wearable device sensor market.

As the demand for smart platforms such as the Internet of Things and machine-to-machine (M2M) continues to grow, the demand for small, low-cost sensors with smart technology is also increasing. In addition, the cost of sensors is also decreasing with the increasing number of smart mobile devices and the introduction of new simple, easy-to-use next-generation sensors.

But at the same time, the lack of common standards and interoperability also limits the development of the entire wearable device sensor market. At present, although interoperability and convenience of information exchange between connected devices are crucial to the development of wearable devices, the relevant technology and market conditions are not ideal in terms of architectural solutions or common standards to solve interoperability problems. In order to achieve this goal, enterprises, organizations and developers need to spend a lot of time to understand the role and importance of security.

**In addition, wearable devices that are worn continuously,** such as fitness bands and health monitors, need to work properly in harsh environments such as dust and humidity. However, the materials used in the packaging and assembly of the device are often very sensitive to external temperature and humidity. Therefore, the operating temperature of the device must not only meet reliability requirements, but also consider providing a certain level of comfort for the user. These thermal design challenges are very severe because they directly affect the durability and user experience of the device.

Future trends in industry development

The "China Wearable Device Market Quarterly Tracking Report" released by IDC shows that the shipment volume of China's wearable device market in the second quarter of 2023 was 33.5 million units, a year-on-year increase of 17.3%, the largest quarterly shipment since 2022. Although it has not yet recovered to the shipment level of 2021, the demand for wearable market has begun to loosen against the backdrop of the relaxation of outdoor and travel activities, which is bound to have an impact on the wearable device sensor market.

Sensors in wearable devices can generally be divided into the following categories.

**Motion sensor: **The original component that converts the change of non-electrical quantity (such as speed, pressure) into the change of electrical quantity. It includes acceleration sensor, gyroscope, geomagnetic sensor or electronic compass sensor, atmospheric pressure sensor, etc.

**Biosensor:**An instrument that is sensitive to biological substances and converts their concentration into electrical signals for detection. It is an analytical tool or system composed of fixed biological sensitive materials as identification elements, appropriate physical and chemical transducers and signal amplification devices. Biosensors have the functions of receptors and converters.

**Environmental sensors: **Including soil temperature sensors, air temperature and humidity sensors, evaporation sensors, rainfall sensors, light sensors, wind speed and direction sensors, etc., which can not only accurately measure relevant environmental information, but also be connected to the host computer to connect to the network, to maximize the user's testing, recording and storage of the data of the measured object. It is the first choice of high-quality instruments for scientific research, teaching, laboratories and agricultural soil and fertilizer stations, agricultural science institutes and related agricultural environmental monitoring departments.

**Galvanic skin sensor: **Galvanic skin sensor is an important component of a lie detector, but it cannot test the user's emotions, it can only sense whether the user's mental state has changed.

**Heart rate sensor: **As a super weapon of personal health equipment, the heart rate sensor can track exercise intensity, different exercise training modes, etc. by monitoring heart rate, and can infer health action data related to it, such as sleep cycle, based on this data. There are currently two main types of heart rate sensors - photoelectric heart rate sensors that measure through light reflection, and electrode heart rate sensors that measure the electrical potential of different parts of the human body.

**Barometer:** It can only measure air pressure data, but through this data we can accurately know the altitude of the machine. If we monitor the changes in air pressure over a period of time, we can also obtain the change data of the machine's altitude, so as to prepare for further data processing.

According to MarketsandMarkets' forecast, the wearable device sensor market may show the following trends in the next five years:

1) The intimate apparel market segment has grown significantly

Sensor-embedded intimate apparel is an emerging market trend that uses fiber electronics principles to integrate electronics and computing functions into textiles. This product follows the trend of technological fashion clothing, bringing electronic devices and sensors closer to people's skin to measure various health and fitness parameters. Intimate apparel mainly includes clothing and underwear, arm and leg guards, smart socks and chest straps, etc.

2) The growth of magnetometers may be second only to underwear

Magnetometers are mainly used to measure the strength and direction of magnetic fields. These devices are small and have small electronic chips around them that help detect magnetic fields and measure the relative direction of the device. Magnetometers have a sensor built in that senses the density of magnetic fields and they are widely used in smartphones and devices for positioning and direction detection. As a major component of wristbands and body-worn devices, magnetometers have the advantages of high efficiency and low maintenance costs.

3) North America may occupy the largest share of the wearable device sensor market

The North American wearable device sensor market covers the United States, Canada, and Mexico. North America is one of the fastest growing regions in the wearable device sensor market, mainly due to the continuous innovation of technology and the layout of some leading sensor manufacturers in this region. In addition, with the growing demand for consumer electronic products such as wearable devices and game consoles, the application of sensors in different fields such as entertainment and medical health has also been promoted.

Key players in the wearable device sensor market include STMicroelectronics (Switzerland), Infineon (Germany), Knowles Electronics (USA), NXP Semiconductors (Netherlands), Texas Instruments (USA), TE Connectivity (Switzerland), Broadcom (Switzerland), Analog Devices (USA), Panasonic (Japan), and Asahi Kasei (Japan).