Dec 2 2007
Research and Markets has announced the addition of Fiber Optic Sensors to its offerings.
Examines OE sensor technologies, competition, and potential markets for OE sensors, barriers, and solutions.
A roadmapping workshop entitled "Fiber Optic Sensors" was held on March 22 and 23 in Boston, MA. The workshop had 75 attendees, 55 from industry, 5 from academia, and 10 from government.
The purpose of the workshop was to reach an industry consensus on
- OE sensor technologies - excluding image sensors
- Competition and potential markets for OE sensors
- Barriers that must be overcome to increase markets and generate new opportunities for the industry
- Potential OIDA contributions to enhance the profitability of the industry and
- Follow-up action items
Optoelectronic Sensors
OE sensors represent a variety of technologies. For the most part, they sense motion, stress, mechanical properties, temperature, pressure as well as chemical composition. In the majority of applications, they replace electrical sensors. In extreme cases, they outperform existing technologies and have a unique, niche market.
The OE Sensor Industry
Although the OE sensor technology emerged over the past 10-20 years, the industrial applications are relatively new. Some of the roots of the technology go back to optical communication and image sensors and might benefit from overlap with these technologies. Since the OE sensor industry is relatively new, it has a number of shortcomings:
- The potential markets and market elasticity is unknown
- The industry is fragmented and is missing a unified roadmap and driving force
- Lack of standards leads to proliferation of products
- Low volume production impedes cost reduction
- Measurement standards are missing; there are no round robin measurement comparisons
- The industry is lacking government R&D support
- The application areas must be enlarged to increase revenues, e.g., bio-photonics
- The emphasis is on point sensors while the applications require sensor systems
- Dialogue with and exposure to potential customers is weak
OE sensors represent a major market opportunity in optoelectronics and they will significantly contribute to intelligent information systems in stationary and mobile applications. David Krohn has done an outstanding job in forming the sensor consortium. It is expected that he will stay part of the OIDA activity and help to elevate his contributions to a higher level for the benefit of the entire industry.