VDC Research: Industrial Sensing, Networking & Control Market Blog

Another Futuristic Blog - Plastic Logic and Future of Plastic Displays

Recently I came across another exciting new development related to futuristic display technologies, which was the topic of another recent blog post, being offered by a company called Plastic Logic. Plastic Logic is developing some exciting new technologies involving plastic displays and plastic electronics which may turn out to be a “game changer” in the way humankind acquire, organize and consume information. Information leads to power and knowledge is power.

The first thing that pops into my mind when I think of plastic displays is the Nook® e-reader (similar to Amazon’s Kindle) that my parents rely on religiously to fulfill their voracious appetite for reading books. They even purchased Kindle’s for my nieces and nephews who are also avid little readers themselves. I must have overlooked putting an e-reader on my Xmas list since I never got one.

Michael Palmer, himself a best-selling author and friend of my parents, recently told me at brunch the other day that electronics books have now surpassed paper books and that paperbacks will likely be going the way of the Dodo bird in the coming years. I can only imagine that we are talking about unit volumes in the billions of readers globally and likely growing at a healthy clip as the share of literate human beings only grows over time, especially in the developing countries. The below graphic provides eBook sale shipments over last 10 years by quarter; it is important to note that price of a typical paper book is probably 3-4 times greater than an eBook so unit shipments are much greater.

Another application in which the use of plastic displays and electronics might be beneficial include those in the military special operations units for whom the ability to read a map, review airstrike coordinates and/or get real-time actionable intelligence without having to worry about the information getting wet, the display being scratched and any other number of problems would literally mean the difference between life and death and mission success or failure.

There are a plethora of other consumer and commercial related applications for which the use of plastic displays and/or plastic electronics could benefit greatly from; however those will have to wait for another blog on another day. But the possible viable market opportunities for employing plastic displays and electronics are almost, figuratively, infinite.

Plastic Logic is an investor back company which boasts some pretty impressive backers including Intel, Dow Venture Capital, BASF and RUSNANO (Russian Corporation on Nanotechnologies), among others. I figure that these guys at Plastic Logic may actually be onto something and that the way we interact with the world around us may just get that more interesting and exciting in the years to come.

Below are some additional links in the event you want to learn more about Plastic Logic:

http://www.redferret.net/?p=29734  

http://www.reuters.com/video/2011/12/05/russias-ipad-alternative-to-text-books?videoChannel=2602&videoId=222207609

Best wishes for Happy Holidays to all.

 

Phones that will bend but not break.....and may even read my mood

As I mentioned in a previous blog, I really enjoy reading about futuristic technology and exciting new product designs. A couple of recent articles discussing phones that can bend and even phones that may be able to read my moods really caught my eye.

Both Nokia Research Lab and Samsung are believed to be working on new phone designs which are flexible and, in the case of Nokia's HumanForm phone, can provide "emotionally enhanced communication" via mood recognition programming that will inform the call recipient of the mood of the caller. I wonder what will happen when some teenage is getting a call from their parents wondering where they are since they are past their curfew at midnight when they should have been home by 11 PM.

The implications for flexible mobile devices may bode well for the future development of wearable technologies and smart fabrics and interactive textiles which could be used in medical applications for true "point of care" treatment, in sports and fitness applications in which bio-physical monitoring is paramount and military applications in which special forces may need to have extreme needs for flexibility of their mobile devices in battlefield conditions.

There are several trends converging that will likely yield exciting new technological developments in which suppliers will be able to provide true 'situational awareness' capabilities to the user. Among the developments enabling this greater interface between human beings, electronics and the world around us include continued improvements in wireless communications bandwidth and reliability, flexible display technology, continued miniaturization of electronics and computing capabilities, deployment of millions of sensors forming vast sensor network arrays which will track out position, vital signs, moods, thoughts, and perhaps even some day enable artificial intelligence on a par with the human brain.

We should all be careful what we wish for since some day we may actually get it.

Some Futuristic Display Technologies to Check Out During the Holidays

I just read an interesting, albeit brief, article outlining 15 futuristic display technologies that may change the way we see the world in the years to come. I love any articles or stories that provide coverage on where technology may be taking us as human beings into the future; having been intimately involved in our wearable technology and smart fabrics initiatives I am particularly fond of developments in these emerging areas on a personal level.

The neat thing about the article I am blogging about is that it actually provides actual pictures of the futuristic display technologies and also has its own link to some futuristic input peripheral technologies as well as a link to a video created by Microsoft on holograms.

I encourage you to check out these links (and other articles on futuristic trends) and to open your mind to the almost infinite possibilities on where mankind may take technology (of all types) into the future as we continue to evolve as an intellectual life form in an unfathomably large and expansive universe.

Steve Jobs Touched Us All

I would like to take this opportunity to recognize the lasting impact that Steve Jobs made not only on personal computing and communications but also on how human beings interact with each other and their electronic devices. His real genius lay in the relentless pursuit of perfection and desire to make product design and innovation as user friendly as possible.

I believe that Steve Jobs' influence in designing the iPod, iPhone and iPad had an immense impact on the growth and influence of touch technologies used in electronic devices of all types. Prior to the release of the iPad, the tablet market was confined to relative niche market segments and the continued promises of "explosive future growth" that really never materialized, at least living up to the hype heaped upon it. Post iPad, the market for tablets has reached the mainstream status, with unit volumes in the millions, that was long since projected by Analysts galore.

VDC's touch screen displays research revealed Apple's reliance on projective capacitive technology and its unique multi-touch product designs and application development led to an explosion in demand for all types of electronic devices, typically mobile devices, that offered the intuitive benefits of a touch interface. Apple's development of multi-touch projective capacity design was truly a game changer and brought demand for touch interfaces to a new level.

Word has it that Steve Jobs decided to drop out of college, found a job and then went in search of his true purpose in life by climbing the Himalayas and meditating in search of truth and meaning. I am not sure if he found Nirvana but it certainly seems Steve Jobs found his true purpose in life and we are all better off for it. Steve Jobs may you rest in eternal peace.

A Few Thoughts on Steve Jobs and Apple's Unsung Heroes

As the world mourns on the passing of Steve Jobs I thought I would put an industrial perspective on some of his accomplishments. Thomas Edison was credited with saying that genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. Without a doubt, Steve Jobs had tons of inspiration but there are likely many genius caliber personnel inside Apple that were able to implement Steve's ideas and concepts and turn them into reality.

I have been on many product launch teams involving cutting edge technologies and I can attest that it is not a simple thing. The products I was involved in were capital equipment type semiconductor testers and the instruments that went into them. These were high tech to be sure but the quantities at launch time were in the dozens not millions. In Apple's case, the innovative products often required new manufacturing techniques and ever smaller/thinner cases. Each product contained new components and everything had to be designed, tested, produced, acquired, and then manufactured in eye-popping quantities in order to have a successful launch. This truly required an army of talented engineers and programmers, as well as supply chain and manufacturing specialists. Each product upon release was under a huge public and analyst/critic microscope and therefore any product problem was magnified to an incredible degree. Despite this, most Apple product launches were very smooth and the demand for the Apple products was usually met in a timely manner.

So, in summary we have to give a lot of credit to Steve Jobs for his inspiration and contributions towards assembling the Apple team and culture but, we should also give credit to the unsung army of Apple's personnel and manufacturing partners for the work they have done making Steve's visions come true. As we say goodbye to Steve Jobs let us hope that the Apple team can continue to execute as they have in the past.

Beijer Completes Korenix Acquisition, Strengthens its Position as a Global Automation and Data Communications Supplier

Beijer Electronics has made a series of acquisitions over the last several years which have continued to strengthen its position as a global supplier of industrial automation and networking solutions. Beijer Electronics offers a broad range of products such as HMI, I/O, industrial PCs, drives, control systems, servo/motion, and wireless and wireline networking components. In 2010 Beijer had estimated sales of US $195 million.

Most recently, Biejer completed its acquisition of Korenix Technologies for a total of just over US $20.5 million in early February. Beijer's other acquisitions included QSI Corporation back in November 2010 to broaden its reach in North America and strengthen its portfolio of HMI solutions. Back in early 2008 the acquisition of Westermo had provided the company with its initial foray into serving the data communications segment and to provide greater connectivity for its HMI product lines. Westermo's wireless modems are covered in VDC's Track 1: Competitive Analysis, Volume 1: Global Wireless Networking Products report.

The acquisition completed a strategic collaboration, started back in 2010, between Korenix and subsidiary Westermo who possesses a strong base in Europe. The acquisition gives both companies a broader product range through complementary products, stronger sales channels in Asia and Europe, mutual exchange of technology including Korenix's Ethernet network switches and device servers, which are covered as part of VDC's soon to be published Track 2: Competitive Analysis, Volume 2: Global Wireline Networking Products report.

Through this acquisition Westermo gets access to the broader industrial networking products market with cost effective solutions for market segments such as industrial automation, building automation, and the security and surveillance sector. Korenix will be able to offer an increased product range of robust products for network environments with very high demands on reliability and redundancy. Korenix can benefit from Beijer Electronics' experience and reputation in core markets so as to expand its market exposure. At this time it appears that the two subsidiaries will operate separately within Beijer's Industrial Data Communications business area but with strong cooperation amongst the operations.

The Pac Man activity I began blogging about several months ago (i.e. Spectris grabs N-TRON and Belden buys GarrettCom) continues; something tells me there will be more such blogs to come.

Touch Technology Impacting All Facets of Life, including Education

One does not have to look very far to find some article, blog, tweet or whatever medium that is expounding the impact of touch technology - sensors and displays - on everyday life.  Although much of the headlines are focused, maybe rightly so, on the iPhone, the  iPad and other mobile computing and communications platforms which are transforming how we interact with the world, one fundamental segment, arguably critical to our continued development as a species, that may be easily overlooked is education and learning.

The use of interactive white boards (and learning centers) leveraging touch technology (i.e. optical, digital cameras, resistive, etc.) is believed to be instrumental in helping decrease the stress on teachers, helping students learn faster through greater collaboration and interaction, and the natural, intuitive movements used with touch-sensitive displays allows students as young as pre-school to use the technology as a means of facilitating learning.

SMART Technologies, a leading supplier of interactive whiteboards, acquired NextWindow in part to boost its investment in optical touch technology and patent portfolio, as well as expand its presence into the broader consumer market and strengthen its presence in Asia.  VDC believes another reason for the acquisition was the desire for continued integration of optical touch technologies into solutions that can serve the specific needs of educational users. 

Education is one of SMART Technologies key markets and they are believed to be the first company to provide a multi-touch, multi-user interactive learning center which schools are now evaluating and considering deployment.  Additional education related market segments in which interactive touch-sensitive white boards are being embraced include corporate training program, public safety training program, and any other government (local, state and federal) training programs.

VDC’s research on touch screen sensors covers the mainstay sensor technologies such as resistive, capacitive (including projected capacitive), surface acoustic wave, scanning infrared, and other emerging sensing technologies such as optical, incell, etc.).  VDC's research provides coverage of touch screen displays - mobile and stationary, by device type (kiosk, POS, smart phone, laptop, etc.) and much more.

We would like to learn about any applications you are seeing, or expect to see, touch screen technologies being utilized for good (or bad) purposes. They could be as mundane as ATMs or as nascent/emerging as wearable technologies and/or smart fabrics and interactive textiles.

VDC is willing to provide a summary webcast highlighting our findings if you have interest and we welcome the opportunity for you to share you perspectives and address your questions or discuss your ideas on the positive impact of touch technology on your life.

 

 

iPad Will Create Opportunity for Touch Screen Suppliers, but not like the iPhone

There is no doubt that Apple products have been a catalyst for the touch industry – let’s face it, the iPhone was a game changer, but the question being asked is; “Will the iPad be as influential?” 

Our recently published touch screen sensor and display reports indicate that although the iPad will boost touch display and sensor sales for tablets, notebooks and mobile computers, it will not have as big of an impact on the touch industry as the iPhone.  Why?  Well, there are a several reasons, including but not limited to:

• The iPhone was a game changer largely due to its ability to create a highly intuitive human-machine interface (HMI) platform for one of the fastest growing consumer electronic markets, providing increased functionality and improved use experience, not to mention the ‘cool factor’.  This is not the case with the tablet market, as tablets have predominately been used within the enterprise sector (not consumer), so there is a greater burden on the iPad to create a consumer market for this device type.  
• iPhones, unlike the iPad, are provided additional sales momentum by the telephone companies and the notion of renewing phone contracts every 2-3 years.  This rapid renewal of contracts typically ensures a shorter lifespan for iPhones – the iPad does not have this additional support.
• The touch industry has rapidly evolved over the past 3-5 years, with much of the value and ‘coolness’ associated with the iPhone’s HMI already (or in the process of being) integrated into existing tablet, laptops and mobile computers, as well as larger  size displays – this market will not be as ‘wowed.’
• Rapid commoditization, increased competition, diminishing margins, blocking IP and a need to differentiate via innovation and/or price has made volume a critical factor of success to touch solution providers.   Although many have their fingers crossed, most touch sensor and display manufacturers don’t expect this market to reach epic proportions due to device pricing levels and a smaller overall total available market.   For example, in 2009, Smartphones/PDAs accounted for more than 40% of all mobile touch screen displays, whereas tablets/notebooks/mobile PCs represented less than 5%, levels not expected to change significantly over the next 3-5 years. 

Regardless of what happens, solution providers clearly believe that continued consumer adoption of touch will enhance the technology’s position as a preferred interface for a wide range of devices in both brown- and green-field opportunities over the years ahead.