With the development of sensors and related software and hardware technologies such as data storage, energy storage, new materials, and network infrastructure equipment, as well as the continuous decline in costs, the application scenarios of sensors will become more and more abundant.
In 2022, along with the development of these technologies, sensors will further change our lives, and at the same time, sensors themselves will also face new development requirements. In the future, sensors will become smaller, cheaper, more accurate, more flexible, more energy-efficient, more environmentally friendly, able to collect more types of data, and integrate more and more new technologies.
1. Smaller and cheaper
With the application of various new platforms and new materials, manufacturers can make smaller sensors, whose performance can be as high as millimeter-scale and microwave-scale electronic components, and with the application of less silicon, the cost will be greatly reduced. reduce. At the same time, the new platform will reduce the design, development and manufacturing costs of sensors.
In the long run, self-calibrating sensors are very cost-effective. Through automatic calibration, the number and time of sensor maintenance can be reduced, and the maintenance cost can be greatly reduced. In addition, self-healing sensors will have a wider range of applications and lower maintenance costs, especially in the event of various disasters and risks.
2. Higher accuracy
At present, the research on multi-channel cooperative spectrum sensing is still in its infancy. In the future, once the technology is mature, it will provide more accurate monitoring data than current single-channel sensors.
More accurate, reliable and reproducible sensors will have more application scenarios in medical equipment and other fields, and their functions will be more powerful.
3. More flexible and flexible
Flexible sensors are an important direction for future sensor development. Currently, flexible photosensors, pH sensors, ion sensors, and biosensors are still in the early stages of development. In the future, these flexible sensors will have more innovative applications, such as artificial skin, wearable sensors, and micromotion sensing.
Through micro-wire technology and magnetic field, the sensor can be as slender as a hair, yet flexible, does not require a power source, and can measure temperature, pressure, tension, stress, torsion and position without contact.
4. Better perception and more data
Future sensors will more effectively mimic human senses to detect, process, and analyze complex signals such as biohazards, odors, material stress, pathogens, and corrosion. For example, these advanced sensors are capable of not only sensing large quantities of a single analyte (such as carbon dioxide), but also deciphering each component in an odor.
Additionally, smart motes are microscopic sensors powered by vibrations that can monitor everything from battlefields to high-rise buildings or clogged arteries.
5. More medical applications
At present, many health-related sensors are mainly used in entertainment and lifestyle fields, and their functions do not meet the requirements of medical grade. In the future, more medical-grade sensors will pass strict regulatory approvals and realize medical applications.
With the miniaturization of laboratory systems, the research and development of emerging technologies for biohazard perception will be accelerated, and wearable sensors will become real medical-grade devices, rather than simple life and entertainment. Medical testing will be easier. A testing instrument can analyze more substances and reduce the need for testing samples. For example, health testing can be done through body fluids such as sweat and tears.
Swallowable pills are an application of the miniaturization of laboratory systems. For example, many health technology start-ups have used swallowable sensors to replace traditional endoscopy to reduce patient suffering. There are also swallowable or implantable pills developed by some technology companies, which can continue to deliver drugs in the body for a long time, making daily treatment easier for patients.
6. More energy-saving
Currently, most sensors are not very energy efficient because they are always on. In the future, sensors will become smarter and condition-driven, only being activated when a certain condition is met, and consume little to no power when they are in standby mode.
In addition, the sensor can also harvest energy from the surrounding environment to achieve longer operation. For example, motion, pressure, light, or the difference in heat between the patient's body and the surrounding air can all be sources of energy for the sensor.
7. More environmentally friendly
In the future, environmentally friendly and biodegradable sensors will become increasingly popular.
For example, the sensor can use degradable paper-based batteries driven by bacteria. Such sensors can be used in fields such as farmland management, environmental monitoring, food distribution monitoring, or medical testing without polluting the environment.
8. Higher complexity and better compatibility
By working in harmony, sensors gain additional complexity. Clusters of sensors allow for better coordination of work among sensors and self-learning systems to determine what and where to work.
In addition, the adoption of various new technologies will also make sensors more diverse. For example, through laser technology, sensors can identify the material composition through the material's unique spectrum; time-of-flight sensors can measure the distance between two objects through infrared light pulses; materials made of crystals, special ceramics, bones, DNA, proteins, etc. Piezoelectric sensors respond better to external pressure and latent heat.
In the future, advances in various basic sciences will further promote the rapid evolution of sensor technology. Sensors will become more miniaturized, humanized, and human-computer interaction more friendly; at the same time, they will become more invisible and less detectable. As sensors become more deeply integrated into our daily lives and merge with new technologies such as AI, they will make our lives better in a future connected and automated world.
