From the Exhibition Hall at the IDTechEx Show! in Santa Clara last week came a wide variety of new product announcements and press releases. Here we summarize some of the announcements.

Researched in late 2016 with ongoing updates, the new IDTechEx report on the Internet of Things is intended to assist investors, participants and intending participants and users.

Debuts in North America; Event Also Features Presentations from Major Car Companies Including Ford, Nissan, Porsche and Toyota

In 2016, Li-ion batteries celebrated their silver jubilee, i.e. they have been on the market, virtually unchanged, for the last 25 years. While this anniversary marks and underscores their worldwide success and diffusion in consumer electronics and, more recently, electric vehicles, the underlying technology begins to show its limitations in terms of safety, performance, form factor, and cost.

Watch our preview of the IDTechEx Show! coming up in Santa Clara on Nov. 16-17 (www.idtechex.com/usa).

Cornerstone presentations at North America's largest event on emerging technologies cover how new technologies are addressing world's biggest needs

The South Korean giant Samsung just got itself into dire straits as the story behind the reported battery fires related to the Galaxy Note 7 unfolds even further. As of September, 92 accidents have been reported in the US alone.

Wearable technology for humans is a big business. There will be almost 40 product sub-categories in the next 10 years, including fitness trackers, smartwatches, connected clothing, smart eyewear, medical devices, smart patches, headphones, and hearing devices.

The Internet of Things adds new sensing and communications to improve the functionality of all manner of things in the world, leading towards broader connectivity, and huge amounts of data generated and exchanged.

With hype around some of the core wearable technology sectors beginning to wane, IDTechEx have released their latest analysis of this diverse and growing industry in their brand new report Wearable Technology 2016-2026.

The unique new IDTechEx Research report, Microcontrollers and Single-board Computers 2016-2026, is the first to reveal the big picture developing from the close relationship between these devices. It provides newly researched forecasts leading to figures such as $300bn in 2026 for SBC alone.

Advancements in electronics technology are enabling medical electronic equipment designed for faster diagnosis, improved patient quality of life, and new drug-based therapies.

The first generation of wearable devices are constructed using mature, rigid technologies put inside a new box that can be worn. These are often bulky devices that are not truly wearable in the sense that our clothes are. This is, however, beginning to change, albeit slowly.

This presentation is based on research from the IDTechEx Research report AR & VR Smartglasses and Functional Contact Lenses 2016-2026 (www.IDTechEx.com/glasses).

While there are obviously similarities, different applications have different key requirements of the TIMs. In all cases, the TIM needs to minimise stress, prevent electromigration of its fillers, and maximise adhesion.

To date, attendee registrations are up by 17% and exhibiting organizations are up by 27% on last year.

Sensor development is driving the next generation of wearable devices, and this development is now going further than simply attaching sensors to devices that can be stuck on the body

The conductive inks and paste business will generate a demand of 1800 tonnes. IDTechEx Research forecasts that this will grow to 2200 by 2026. This business has come alive again and is now a business where literally everything is changing.

The battery market has suddenly become alive again in recent years. On the one hand, batteries are assuming new form factors, becoming ultra-thin, flexible, rollable, stretchable, etc. On the other hand, manufacturing are scrambling to offer large batteries aimed at addressing the large-sized electric vehicle and grid applications.

As CES passed for another year we saw another wave of announcements and demonstrations without the topic reaching the limelight it will soon command.