It is not uncommon to have a favorite bra, or a lucky pair of pants. Now, innovations in E-Textiles and Smart Clothing have taken this phenomenon to the next level. Imagine a pair of pants that can play your party playlist when you get too sad, or a bra that can turn down the thermostat when your indoor workout raises your temperature.

As increasing numbers of devices gain electronic functionality, many new applications will require some sort of display. This growth in functional, wirelessly connected devices is an exciting technological transition that could radically reshape how we interact with previously inanimate objects.

We are looking for entrepreneurial, enthusiastic people to join IDTechEx to apply their technical knowledge. You will be involved with technology scouting, market research and consultancy in a rapidly growing, exciting, global firm.

Investment and development in haptics is accelerating, and the supply chain providing the actuators, drivers and software behind these key components is evolving at a faster pace every year. IDTechEx's latest report on haptics, "Haptics 2021-2031: Technologies, Market & Players", predicts that the industry will be worth nearly $5bn in 2025.

Phone systems change every ten years. 5G communications is now rolling out worldwide. It is time to plan 6G communications for 2030! Although little is decided - not even the frequency - much can be said about the extremely ambitious 6G objectives and challenges. This article gives the IDTechEx appraisal of 6G communications 2021-2041.

Tuesday 26 January 2021 - Competitive landscape amongst leading actuator manufacturers; comparison of various emerging technology options and their commercial potential; broader themes in haptic feedback and go-to-market approaches and a review from recent industry events (including CES 2021)

By 2030, IDTechEx predicts the augmented, virtual, and mixed reality market to be over $30Bn. With COVID-19 limiting physical interaction, virtual communication and interaction will be the norm for many years to come.

IDTechEx currently have a number of wearable related webinars available to watch on-demand. These include presentations on XR, wearables - the impact of COVID, and self-powered electronics.

The building of the future may have printed sensors built into the walls, floor, and ceiling to detect water leaks, air quality, usage patterns, and more.

New report available from IDTechEx - "Haptics 2021-2031: Technologies, Market & Players". This in-depth report includes ERM motors, LRAs, piezoelectric ceramics and polymers, surface haptics, SMAs, electroactive polymers, kinaesthetic and contactless haptic feedback.

Wednesday 20 January 2021 - Key themes covered include historic data and market forecasts relating to sensor adoption in wearable devices; innovation trends across different sensor types; roadmaps for new sensor adoption; and recent commercial highlights from industry events.

IDTechEx have released their latest report on haptics, projecting that the industry will grow from $3.6bn in 2020 to nearly $5bn per year by 2025.

Virtual, augmented and mixed reality products have continued to receive high levels of funding and investment during the 2010 decade. IDTechEx predicts that this technology will grow to over $30bn by 2030. This article aims to explain the growth in demand behind this exciting technology.

At IDTechEx, we cover emerging technologies and industry trends, and the COVID-19 pandemic has had a direct or indirect impact on all of them. In this article we will describe some of the key roles that these technologies have played in 2020.

Virtual reality has already had a major impact in a range of different industries. IDTechEx predicts in its recent market research report that this technology will grow to $8Bn by 2030.

Thursday 3 December (includes Q&A session) - Printed/flexible electronics is a constantly evolving area with extensive scope for innovation. In this webinar, Dr Matthew Dyson will discuss four technical innovations learned about in 2020.

The wearable technology market was worth nearly $70bn in 2019, having doubled in size since 2014. Sensors have provided the core features for many of these different products throughout this rise, and they will continue to be critical into future generations of products.

Thursday 12 November 2020 - Emerging Applications for Printed/Flexible Electronics. This webinar includes a Q&A session. Emerging applications that will be discussed in the webinar include: Electronic skin patches; Building integrated electronics; and Sticker electronics.

The first electric hearing aid was created in 1898, and was arguably among the earliest examples of wearable tech. So it's fitting that, more than a century later, on- and in-ear technology is once again leading the way - this time as hearables, a sector now poised for substantial growth.

The newest toy for dogs is a high-tech augmented reality headset.