More growth for high-end inertial sensors

Two years ago, high-end inertial sensors entered a high growth phase as new applications emerged, enabled by the availability of MEMS devices. Defense applications still represent half of the market, while commercial aerospace and industrial applications are driving future growth.

But MEMS is a game-changer, serving many new applications requiring high performance, low-cost and small form factor. Satellite constellations, development projects for autonomous driving, industrial platform stabilization systems and industrial drones are all now using MEMS-based inertial measurement units (IMUs). This includes both silicon gyroscopes and silicon accelerometers – see the Yole Développement (Yole) report High-End Gyroscopes, Accelerometers and IMUs for Defense, Aerospace & Industrial, for more details. We expect more dynamic growth in the short term in this global market because of two factors:

• First, while the US and European defense and aerospace markets are best described as conservative and mature, many new programs are being launched in China, Russia, Brazil, and the Middle East. These will provide a high level of demand, with attractive growth opportunities
• Second, low-cost emerging MEMS devices are fueling growth of the IMU market and opening doors to many new applications. The 2015 market for high-performance gyroscopes, which was estimated at $1.43B, is therefore expected to grow 5.2% annually to reach $1.69B in 2019

(Source: High-End Gyroscopes, Accelerometers and IMUs for Defense, Aerospace & Industrial report, Yole Développement)

And this is just the beginning! From Yole’s analysis, multiple new applications are now in development or qualification stages, which mean new business opportunities in the next 3-5 years.

There’s also a lot of change in the competitive landscape. Honeywell, Northrop Grumman, Sagem and ADI are still the leaders in gyroscopes and accelerometers. However, new players are now entering the game with new MEMS designs and very strong growth momentum. These companies include Sensonor and Tronics for gyroscopes, Colibrys, Physical Logic and Lumedyne Technologies for accelerometers. They are now strong competitors, bringing very compact sensors with enhanced specifications and competitive prices. And in a new departure for this industry, several of them are also gradually growing into the IMU field. Sensonor, for example is combining its own sensor with competitors’ products in a very compact IMU. The Sensonor IMU, the STIM300, offers very good specifications for a 3-axis gyro and 3-axis accelerometer in very compact and robust packaging. See the System Plus Consulting report Sensonor STIM210 High-precision MEMS Gyro Module for more details.

(Source: Sensonor STIM210 High-precision MEMS Gyro Module report, System Plus Consulting)

What happens now? New applications! Global brand names like Virgin Group, through OneWeb, Google, through SpaceX, and Facebook, through Ascenta, aspire to colonize the sky. Among their aims is giving internet access to the half of humanity not yet connected, and transforming space into a commercial industry. The price and specification of the products they need will be lower than defense, but higher than industrial. Several technologies are hoping to serve them, but those requirements and the need for small size will favor MEMS. With high and continuously-improving performance, MEMS could be suitable for commercial space flight and microsatellite segments. Mature technologies will also benefit from other markets, as well as growing demand from emerging countries, especially China. However, the biggest opportunities seem to be for high-end MEMS, not just in the battlefield but also the sky.

(Source: High-End Gyroscopes, Accelerometers and IMUs for Defense, Aerospace & Industrial report, Yole Développement)

Another story is how the existing entrenched players like Honeywell, NG and Sagem will react to the growing “new kids on the block”. Several years ago Sagem acquired Colibrys to get access to high-end MEMS accelerometers. This boosted Colibrys’ momentum (related webinar below), enabling them to push the boundaries in term of performance and price. Stay tuned to see what the next moves will be.

Source :   

RELATED EVENT

Advantages of capacitive MEMS vs. other technologies
Webinar on May 3rd, 2016 – from 05:00 to 06:00PM CEST
Powered by SAFRAN Colibrys – Supported by Yole Développement
Be sure to make the right choice in sensors technologies.
This webinar will compare capacitive MEMS technologies versus piezo and others. Join us, and learn how inertial sensors work, which key technologies are used for inertial sensing and be sure to select the right technology for your application.
More information here.