Growth of motion sensing IC market slowing
Despite slower growth, acceleration/yaw sensors—which are accelerometers and gyroscope devices primarily made with microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology—reached record-high sales of $2.54 billion in 2012, surpassing the previous peak of $2.37 billion in 2011, when market revenues rose 27 percent, according to IC Insights’ latest report and forecast for the optoelectronics, sensors/actuators and discretes (OSD) market.
IC Insights (Scottsdale, Arizona) predicts that acceleration/yaw sensor sales will increase by 12 percent in 2013 to reach $2.84 billion. In 2014, sales are forecast to rise by an additional 19 percent to $3.39 billion, according to the firm. Between 2012 and 2017, acceleration/yaw sensor sales are projected to rise by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of nearly 17 percent, reaching $5.47 billion in 2017, IC Insights said.
Between 2007 and 2012, acceleration/yaw sensor sales grew by a CAGR of 24 percent, according to IC Insighs OSD report.
Since the 1990s, the use of MEMS-based accelerometers and gyroscope devices has expanded from automotive safety systems to new sensing applications in cellphones, tablet computers, video-game controllers, media players, and other portable consumer products, IC Insights said. A growing number of low-cost inertial sensors are being used to embed automated controls in portable products and support higher levels of system intelligence, based on measurements of movement, according to IC Insights.
With acceleration/yaw sensors moving into more high-volume systems applications, revenues for MEMS-based inertial devices have reached new record-high levels each year since 2005, based on IC Insights’ market data. Acceleration/yaw sensor sales crossed the $1 billion level for the first time in 2008, then passed the $2 billion mark in 2011, according to IC Insights. According to the OSD forecast, the market will pass the $3 billion level in 2014 and the $5 billion level in 2014.
Acceleration/yaw sensor unit shipments are also growing rapidly, reaching a record-high volume of 2.75 billion devices in 2012, which was a 20 percent increase from the previous peak of 2.30 billion units in 2011, IC Insights said. The firm is forecasting a 20 percent increase in acceleration/yaw sensor shipments in 2013 to 3.30 billion units worldwide.
But average selling prices (ASPs) of inertial sensors are also falling fast, IC Insights said. In 2012, ASPs fell 10 percent to below $1 for the first time, partly due to intense competition between device suppliers aiming to serve high-volume applications IC Insights said. The new OSD report projects that acceleration/yaw sensor ASPs will drop another 7 percent in 2013 to 86 cents.
In the next several years, ASPs are expected to stabilize, resulting in an average annual decline of 2 percent between 2012 and 2017, according to the new report.
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