Abstract
Summary
The prospects for WSN technology are most promising. The market for wireless
sensor systems should grow rapidly over the next 5-10 years. Depending on the
outcome of standardization efforts and developments in affiliated markets,
sales of wireless sensor systems could reach 5 to 7 billion dollars in future.
The WSN market must grow rapidly to reach such levels so quickly, however. As
the market takes off from its current small base, sales will multiply
year-to-year. Annual growth rates will fall through a still substantial 40 or
50%.
Wireless sensor networks represent an emerging set of technologies that will
have profound effects across a range of industrial, scientific and
governmental applications. A wireless sensor net is made up of a group of
sensor nodes. Each sensor node possesses the ability to monitor some aspect of
its environment, and each is able to communicate its observations through
other nodes to a destination where data from the network is gathered and
processed. Recent developments in wireless technologies and the semiconductor
fabrication of miniature sensors are making WSNs smaller and more
cost-effective for a growing number of uses.
First chapter' s glimpse at WSN technology introduced the basic concepts of the
wireless sensor market. The concepts presented here will frame the discussion
in later chapters on the nature of the WSN market.
Chapter 2 of this report presents case studies of wireless sensor
applications. Each case study analysis includes a discussion of the location
of the case study along the WSN technology dimensions introduced in this
chapter.
Chapter 3 of the report provides an analysis of vendor strategies for wireless
sensor markets. The strategic analysis focuses on leading firms across various
segments of the WSN industry.
Scenarios for the development of the WSN market are presented in Chapter 4.
The market analysis includes a deeper exploration of the WSN value chain
models introduced above. Among the features that distinguish between the
scenarios discussed in Chapter 4 are the outcomes of the WSN technology
standardization efforts that are discussed in Chapter 5.
Finally, Chapter 6 recaps the findings of the report and suggests strategies
for engaging in the WSN market.
WSN markets represent one aspect of a revolution occurring in data
communication: the declining volume of people-to-people compared to
machine-to-machine communication. The New York Times has quoted Intel' s
associate director of research, Hans Mulder, who predicts that wireless
coordination between sensors and machines "will be pervasive in 20 years."
This report sheds light on what the path to pervasive sensor-machine
communication may look like.
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