According to NANOSENSORS: A MARKET
OPPORTUNITY ANALYSIS, a new report from NanoMarkets, LC, an industry analyst
firm based here, sensors designed and built using nanotechnology will generate
global revenues of $2.7 billion in 2008 and reach $17.2 billion in 2012.
Nanosensor arrays are already under development by giant firms such as Dow
Corning, Samsung, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, IBM, Motorola, and Agilent as well
as by start-ups such as Nanomix and Ambri. NanoMarkets foresees important
applications for nanosensors in a wide range of applications including
medicine and healthcare, military and homeland defense, industrial control and
robotics, networking and communications, and environmental monitoring.
NanoMarkets believes that the market opportunities for nanosensors will
stem, in large part, from unique features that surpass competing technologies.
In areas such as biomedicine and homeland security, for example, nanosensors'
ability to detect at the molecular or even atomic level is critical.
Nanosensors will better detect the onset of diseases such as cancer or heart
disease, and NanoMarkets expects the market for biomedical nanosensors to
reach approximately $800 million in 2008 and $1.2 billion in 2012.
Nanosensors for military and homeland defense applications, where they will be
used to detect the presence of biotoxins (such as anthrax and smallpox) or of
radioactive materials, are projected to reach $827 million in 2008 and grow to
$3.9 billion in 2012.
The new NanoMarkets report also predicts that nanotechnology will lead to
a radical reduction in the cost of individual sensors, which enable sensors to
be used more widely in transportation. The result is greater sensor
redundancy and better environmental, ergonomic and fuel-use control in both
cars and planes. This will ultimately result in lowered costs and more
comfort and safety for end users -- all of which are key competitive issues
for both airlines and automobile companies. NanoMarkets expects that the
aerospace segment of the nanosensors market will reach $214 million in 2008
and $2.1 billion in 2012 and that the automotive segment will grow from $133
million to $1.5 billion over the same period.
The new NanoMarkets report covers two kinds of nanosensors: conventional
sensors that use nanomaterials as the sensing material and nanosensors that
utilize nanoelectronics to reduce size and cost and provide a higher level of
functional integration. Among the technology/materials platforms studied were
carbon nanotubes, nanowires, molectronics, spintronics, and "plastic
electronics." Types of sensors reviewed include gas/liquid, biomolecular,
"physical" (motion, pressure, etc.), optical, electrical/magnetic and
radiation. The report includes an eight-year forecast of the market broken
out by application sector, with each of the sector forecasts further broken
out by type of sensor and material/technology platform. Also included are
profiles of 25 firms actively pursuing the development of nanosensors.
