What does good look like? Whether trying to predict World Cup results or assess the relative merits of emerging technologies, establishing a meaningful set of performance benchmarks is crucial but challenging.

With the innovation of lidar beam steering technologies, continuous lidar cost reduction, as well as the progress of Advanced Driving Assistance System (ADAS) and Autonomous vehicles (AV), lidars are embracing their potential $8.4 billion-dollar market by 2033.

Photovoltaics is the fastest-growing energy source. Of the thin film PV technologies, cadmium telluride (CdTe) dominates. It is largely concentrated within the US, where it accounts for 40 % of US utility-scale PV power. In recent years, the commercial efficiency of CdTe panels has been playing a catch-up game with conventional silicon and is currently trailing by ~3 %. Efficiency, however, is not the only deciding factor.

The true description of graphene is that of a single atomic layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal array. However, the nanocarbon material landscape is much more complicated than this simple statement, with single-layer, few-layer, multi-layer, graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) and both graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) all to be considered as types of graphene.

Wednesday 19 October 2022 - Augmented and virtual reality devices are becoming established commercial products, but they have yet to meet their full promise of revolutionizing how we interact with computing. For this to happen, substantial hardware development needs to take place: but what are the key bottlenecks here?

On September 30th 2022, Apple CEO Tim Cook spoke to Dutch news outlet Bright about the future of augmented reality (AR) and the metaverse. On AR, Cook was bullish, stating that it "won't be that long" until we look at life without AR as we now look back to a life before the internet or smartphone.

Is Graphene Green? This question comes up an increasing amount. Green drivers and ESG investments are an obvious focus across the supply chain, but where does graphene fit into this discussion? IDTechEx explore the answer in this article.

Virtual, augmented, and mixed reality (VR/AR/MR) devices promise to revolutionize the way we interact, acting as gateways to the metaverse. Despite these technologies already achieving limited adoption, extensive headset hardware development is required to meet the demands of becoming a ubiquitous computing platform.

Wednesday 5 October 2022 - The opportunities presented by thin film photovoltaics; Discussion of the barriers facing the commercialisation of thin film photovoltaics; Overview of emerging applications for thin film photovoltaics and readiness levels; and Roadmaps for the future of thin film photovoltaics

Powering IoT devices in a cheap, sustainable fashion is crucial to achieve the promised vision of a connected world. Small, low-cost thin film solar cells, optimized to work with diffuse indoor light, offer a solution to this dilemma.

With the innovation of lidar beam steering technologies, continuous lidar cost reduction, as well as the progress of Advanced Driving Assistance System (ADAS) and Autonomous vehicles (AV), lidars are embracing their potential US$8.4 billion-dollar market by 2033, enabled by automotive applications, which can be further widely expanded to other areas such as robotics, industrial, smart city, and mapping.

As of mid-2022, the global graphene and graphene oxide installed capacity easily exceeds 12,000 tonnes per year, but utilization is low as the orders lag significantly behind. Is this a natural part of the commercial journey, or has hype overcome reality? Is this a case of "build it, they will come", or are there real market needs? What does the future hold for these graphene manufacturers? IDTechEx provides an independent perspective on these questions and more.

Before Google Glass first hit public testing in 2013, the word "glasshole" had already been coined. Referring to someone who uses an augmented reality (AR) headset inconsiderately, this term eloquently expresses the difficulty in achieving social acceptability.

In the shadows of a silicon-dominated field, other photovoltaic (PV) technologies have been edging closer to the spotlight.

To date, the commercialization of graphene has been more of a "material push" rather than a "market pull"; a solution looking for a problem. In this first phase, there were numerous technical and commercial barriers to overcome, which in materials science does not happen overnight. IDTechEx believes that this is changing, with graphene entering the next stage, the growth phase, of its commercial journey.

Perovskite PV is an exciting new solar power technology. The new report published by IDTechEx, "Perovskite Photovoltaics 2023-2033", explores the commercialization potential of perovskite PV and identify the challenges remaining.

Thursday 14 July 2022 - Perovskite Photovoltaics: The Solution to our Energy Needs? How perovskites can resolve technology gaps within the photovoltaics market; Discussion of difficulties facing the commercialisation; Overview of emerging applications and readiness levels; and roadmaps for the future of perovskite photovoltaics

Virtual Reality (VR) headsets are edging toward becoming commonplace. However, social acceptability is still some way off and the user experience is not entirely comfortable. Essential to solving these problems are the lenses that magnify and focus headsets' displays.

IDTechEx's new report, "Perovskite Photovoltaics 2023-2033", explores the diverse range of opportunities presented by perovskite PV, including gaps in demand, supply chain innovation, and emerging applications.

Thursday 30 June 2022 - Emerging optical technologies have the potential to make realities feel more real in a compact device that may be worn all day. But what are these technologies and how will they alter the landscape of this growing industry? How will manufacturers and material suppliers need to react?