Acoustic Wave Sensors - Global Market Trajectory & Analytics

The global market for Acoustic Wave Sensor is projected to reach US$835.9 million by 2025 driven by emerging new applications among which the automotive industry stands out as having the biggest revenue impact. Opportunities for acoustic wave sensor are expanding in tandem with the growing importance of automotive sensing. Currently, torque and tire pressure sensors utilize surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensors. Their use has grown significantly over the years, supported by falling sensor costs. As these sensors can be manufactured with repeatable quality, they are mass produced and enjoy economies of scale responsible for their lower cost of production. SAW sensors are effective in measuring angular velocities and therefore find use in monitoring rotating components in an automobile. Another emerging application area is in the field of autonomous vehicles. For autonomous cars to become safe and evolve from semi-autonomous cars to level 4 and 5 vehicles, requires accurate and foolproof detection and localization of objects. Sound waves are emerging into the spotlight for their ability to help the vehicles sense its surroundings. In other words, acoustic signal source location is the most foolproof way to detect approaching vehicles and objects. Although, light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensors have been used, the technology has its fair share of drawbacks ranging from high costs, inability to scan long distances to limitations in identifying color changes. Acoustic wave sensors, on the other hand, have a much higher reliability and safety index, as they rely on modulation of surface acoustic waves to sense objects and surroundings. Over the long-term, these sensors will play a pivotal role in direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation in autonomous vehicles. Currently, however they hold the potential to be used as a redundant system along with LiDAR systems to provide additional safety. With sensor fusion being the new flavor, accurate sound source localization will involve combining data from Lidar sensors and multiple acoustic sensors. Development of new noise cancelling and filtering processes and technologies will enhance reliable of sound location, given that vehicles often operate in cluttered and noisy environments.

In the industrial sector, the progress being made in intelligent industrial sensing will also spur opportunities for growth. Industrial sensing involves monitoring process environment and acoustic wave sensors find uses in measuring vapor, humidity, and temperature. A noteworthy new opportunity in this space is its promising use in machine condition and structural health monitoring (SHM) applications. Acoustics based condition monitoring is gaining prominence and is based on the simple principle that healthy working machines have a stable noise spectrum and any spectrum changes can indicate equipment failure/malfunctioning. In the telecommunications market, one the well-established application areas, growth will be driven by growing adoption of wireless networks and the ensuing demand for bulk acoustic wave (BAW) sensors. In the medical sector, attractive opportunities lie in wait as acoustic-based biosensors gain research momentum and new applications emerge in POC testing for respiratory diseases and blood pressure measurement. The United States and Europe represent large markets worldwide with a combined share of 55.9% of the market. China ranks as the fastest growing market with a CAGR of 14.1% over the analysis period. Growth in the country is supported by robustly growing sensor applications as the country's witnesses pioneering uses of cutting-edge technologies i.e. sensor-rich agricultural mechanization; sensor enabled industrial/manufacturing automation; and other sensor embedded applications in smart cities and smart transportation, among others.

Select Competitors (Total 35 Featured):

• Althen GmbH
• Boston Piezo Optics Inc.
• Christian Burkert GmbH & Co. KG
• Campbell Scientific, Inc.
• CTS Corporation
• Dytran Instruments, Inc.
• Electronic Sensor Technology Inc.
• Hawk Measurement Systems
• H. Heinz Mebwiderstande GmbH
• ifm electronic GmbH
• NanoTemper Technologies GmbH
• Pro-micron GmbH
• Qualtre Inc.
• Senseor SAS
• Sensor Technology Ltd.
• Transense Technologies plc
• Vectron International, Inc.