How industrial IoT will drive the MEMS market
It is reasonably easy to see where the direct demand is across a broad set of sensor types and diverse set of applications including asset-tracking systems, smart grids and building automation,
However the bigger demand is indirect which IHS puts down to the use of MEMS in probe cards, used to test the memories that go into data centers to support industrial IoT and in optical cross-connect switches (OXCs) used to link server racks in data centers.
Figure 1 shows the direct and indirect annual demand for MEMS components in industrial IoT. The MEMS used in direct applications are the usual suspects: are pressure sensors, inertial sensors, energy scavangers, gas and chemical sensors, timing devices, microphones and scanning mirrors.
Global MEMS market revenue for direct and indirect industrial Internet of Things equipment (millions of US dollars). Source: IHS.
The worldwide annual market revenue for MEMS components used directly in industrial IoT equipment will go from $15.6 million in 2013 to about $19 million in 2014 and then climb again to about $30 million in 2015. Over the period 2013 to 2018 IHS is forecasting a compound annual growth rate of 50 percent to take the annual market from $16 million in 2013 to about $120 million in 2018.
Next: Indirect but valuable
However, IHS senior principal analyst Jeremie Bouchaud, argues that a much greater value of MEMS devices will used indirectly to support industrial IoT by deployment in data centers. This indirect market for industrial IoT will be nearly twice as large as the industrial direct market in 2018, IHS forecasts.
This indirect market was worth about $43 million in 2013 and will increase to about $214 million in 2018. Along the way it will have doubled in 2014 to about $84 million in 2014 and increase by 46 percent in 2015 to a value of about $123 million.
In email correspondence Bouchaud told eeNews Europe: "In term of units shipment the volumes associated to these indirect IoT applications is low, much lower than direct IoT applications for MEMS sensors. But these are very expensive MEMS device so the revenue opportunity is significant."
Putting the direct and indirect market opportunities together makes the total additional annual market revenue for MEMS created by industrial IoT to be worth about $334 million in 2018, IHS claims.
Global market shipments for industrial IoT equipment are expected to expand to 7.3 billion units shipped in 2025, up from 1.8 billion shipped in 2013.
Building automation is set to generate the largest volumes of MEMS shipments in the industrial IoT market sector. The second largest sector is asset tracking which creates demand for large volumes of MEMS accelerometers and pressure sensors. The smart grid also will require various types of MEMS, including inclinometers to monitor high-voltage power lines as well as accelerometers and flow sensors in smart meters.
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