New sensors become an important pillar for the development of the IOT

 

The industrial chain of the IOT includes sensors and chips, equipment, network operations and services, software and application development, and system integration. As the base of the “pyramid” of the Internet of Things, sensors will be the most demanded and basic link in the entire chain. “The development speed of the sensor industry will directly affect the development speed of the Internet of Things. Therefore, we set the theme of this annual meeting as ‘Internet of Things, Sensors First’.”

 

IOT covers many fields such as intelligent transportation, environmental protection, government work, public safety, safe home, intelligent fire protection, industrial monitoring, elderly care, personal health, etc. The market maturity of industries such as intelligent transportation, urban security, and smart grid is relatively high, the sensing technology is mature, and the government supports it strongly. Large-scale applications have begun in many cities, with broad market prospects and huge investment opportunities. It will become a key area for the development of the Internet of Things industry in the next few years. However, the application of intelligent sensors in the fields of medical care, family, and individuals will take a long time, and the technology and standards need to be further improved. Most products are still in the trial stage and will not be widely used in the short term.

 

Industry insiders said that the development of the IOT relies on new sensors as the material basis. Therefore, domestic companies should target the application areas of the above-mentioned IOT and develop new sensors.

 

New sensors include temperature, humidity, optical, infrared, chemical, magnetic and acoustic sensors for IoT applications. The new sensor industry integrates advanced microelectronics technology, computer technology, information technology and advanced manufacturing technology, represents the current development direction of sensor technology and industry, and has broad market prospects. New sensors are mainly based on MEMS technology, new materials, microelectronics technology and related disciplines, and are characterized by integration, intelligence, miniaturization, networking, multi-function, low cost, excellent technical performance and high reliability.

 

Industry experts believe that, at present, relevant industry authorities or industry associations should organize experts, industry users and relevant researchers to screen and evaluate some new sensor projects, determine some key support and priority development projects, and accelerate their industrialization process. The development of new sensors should also be based on the needs of various fields of the national economy and the development of the Internet of Things. Through national policy support and capital investment, the products that are currently independently developed in China, have independent intellectual property rights, and have been produced in small batches will form a certain market share, and gradually develop and expand enterprises with technological advantages, so that they can become domestic and even international famous brands.

 

In recent years, the global sensor industry has achieved rapid development. The market scale of China’s Internet of Things industry in the public business field, as well as safe home, power safety, public safety, health monitoring, intelligent transportation, anti-intrusion in important areas, environmental protection and many other fields has exceeded tens of billions or even hundreds of billions of yuan. The market prospect will far exceed that of computers, the Internet, mobile communications, etc.

 

Domestic sensor companies are accelerating their development to seize the market

Faced with fierce market competition and the rise of emerging markets such as the Internet of Things, domestic sensor companies should seize the opportunity, plan their brand strategies with a global competitive perspective, and strive to change the current situation where core sensor technologies are not in the hands of the Chinese, so that Chinese sensor companies can have a place in the market competition.

 

In the face of major opportunities in the development of the Internet of Things, domestic enterprises should give full play to the role of independent innovation of the industry-university-research alliance, be market-oriented, and strengthen the sensor industry. Lu Geyu, a professor at the School of Electronic Science and Engineering of Jilin University, combined his experience working in Japan to summarize some valuable experience. He said that the development of the domestic sensor industry must follow the path of industry-university-research cooperation. The industry, R&D institutions, and the education sector should learn to understand each other, especially the strengths of each other, and learn more from each other. “Only in this way can we overcome short-term behavior and promote original innovation. This is how Japan’s gas sensors were developed,” he said.

Professor Lai Shurong of the Department of Electronic Engineering at Tsinghua University said that many of their current research projects are jointly developed with enterprises. She believes that the research strength of the school and the financial and human resources of the enterprise must be combined to achieve the effect of “1 1>2”. In the meantime, the school should maintain close contact with the enterprise to develop the products they need. She also suggested that the Sensitive Components and Sensors Branch organize key units, communicate well with relevant government departments, combine various forces, apply for and undertake some national projects, that is, “join forces to do great things.”

 

 

 

The diversity of sensors determines that companies in the industry must take the path of integration. Companies should attach importance to technology integration and promote industrial integration through technology integration.

 

 

 

 

Like other industries, standards are also a challenge that the sensor industry must face. Li Yongxiang, deputy general manager of Nanyang Jinguan Technology Co., Ltd., believes that at present, in the early stages of the development of the Internet of Things, the government should guide and enterprises should participate in research on the standards of sensors used in the Internet of Things. If the standards are formulated after the industry develops, it will be very difficult and will waste a lot of resources. He emphasized that the formulated standards must conform to objective reality and cannot be too advanced, otherwise the standards will be meaningless.

 

 

 

The Sensitive Components and Sensors Branch of the China Electronic Components Industry Association held the “Internet of Things Industry Development Forum and the 2010 Annual Meeting of the Sensitive Components and Sensors Branch of the China Electronic Components Industry Association”. The delegates of the meeting believed that sensors, as the basic units of the Internet of Things, play an irreplaceable role in the information collection of the Internet of Things and are the key to the success or failure of the Internet of Things. In the future, new sensors will become the technical core of the Internet of Things, which will enable wireless sensor networks and optical networks to quickly join the application system of the Internet of Things, and the Internet of Things will also become a new engine for the sensor market.

 

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