Research Articles

It is now commonplace for supercapacitors to be placed across lithium-ion batteries. Indeed, in some applications, the battery is now omitted and the supercapacitor does the job on its own as with some hybrid and pure electric bus traction systems and power tools.

Wearable technology for humans is all the rage. As "the next big thing", it involves head-on clashes between some of the largest companies on the planet. Those interested in such technologies would therefore be wise to take a look at wearable technology for animals.

The starting point for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is rarely military; it is at the other extreme with toy helicopters and predating professional UAV helicopters and so on. Despite the emphasis in the press, it is not all about improvement of batteries.

The global market for 3D printing is set to reach $7 billion by 2025, as forecasted by IDTechEx. Existing applications will continue to expand but many emerging applications will also be commercialised.

New research by IDTechEx in the report Graphene Markets, Technologies and Opportunities 2014-2024 External Link shows that graphene markets will grow from around $20 million in 2014 to more than $390 million in 2024, at the material level.

Dr Xiaoxi He is a physicist with a background in emerging technologies including organic electronics.

The electric and hybrid marine market will increase rapidly from $2.6 billion in 2013 to over $7.3 billion by 2024.

On the 18th April, Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman of the District Court for the Northern District of Illinois ruled in favour of 3D Systems regarding the antitrust case brought against it by chemical giant DSM Desotech.

The heart of the e-textile business as it emerges is electric and electronic functionality from sensing to light emission, achieved entirely by use of e-fibers.

Many giant electronics manufacturers, computer services companies and conglomerates are heavily investing in wearable technologies, the internet of things, and the internet of people. IDTechEx predicts massive growth in these areas in the coming years.

IDTechEx's report Organic Photovoltaics 2013-2023: Technologies, Markets, Players analyses the latest developments in this field. This report gives an overview of the greater photovoltaic business landscape, assesses the organic photovoltaic technology at material and component level, and delivers detailed market forecasts.

3D bioprinting is a catch-all term representing a raft of technologies as described in the recent IDTechEx report "3D Bioprinting 2014-2024: Applications, Markets and Players". Such is the potential of 3D bioprinting that the market could realistically reach a value of $6B by 2024.