2017/08/08 Infrared imaging: “We need to look even further…”

• A multitude of uses bring success to the uncooled IR imaging market.

• Two leaders with different strategies, facing many challengers: ULIS and FLIR.

• Every segment of the uncooled infrared supply chain si gaining momentum.

• Executive IR Imaging Forum on Sep. 7 in Shenzen, China: PROGRAM & REGISTRATION

Uncooled IR imaging market has been initially driven by defense applications. Then innovation and cost reduction enabled the implementation of a new commercial market segment including thermography, surveillance, PVS and more applications. Today the uncooled IR camera market is showing an 8% CAGR between 2016 and 2022 reaching almost US$ 4.4 billion at the end of the period. Only few players control this industry: in 2016, two leading companies, FLIR and ULIS, both with different market strategies and solutions, owned more than 75% of the total market (in volume). 

These results are part of the latest technology and market analysis from Yole Développement (Yole), titled Uncooled Infrared Imagers Market & Technology Trends released today. 

Under this highly competitive ecosystem, the “More than Moore” market research and strategy consulting company Yole, in collaboration with CIOE is organizing the Executive IR Imaging Forum on September 7 in Shenzhen, China, alongside the 19th China International Optoelectronic Expo 2017. This second edition is focused on the latest technical innovations and market status. During an impressive one-day program, Yole and CIOE propose you to get a comprehensive overview of the IR imaging industry including technical insights, market trends and related figures and competitive landscape. Agenda & registration are now available.

“The future of uncooled IR imagers is bright,” announces Yole’s Senior Analyst, Dr. Eric Mounier. “Driven by dynamic commercial applications which continues to expand really quickly, this industry is showing significant emerging applications that could impact the market evolution. We are at the very beginning of new large volume applications…” 
Therefore, the Uncooled Infra-Red Imager report highlights some existing and future applications… As an example, the debate whether uncooled IR solutions could be used in autonomous cars is still open today: such technologies present lot of advantages, as they can sense, detect and identify obstacle event at long distance and at poor visibility. The adoption of uncooled IR solutions could so strongly modify the industry landscape…

All imaging players are on the look and try to confirm its market positioning:
   •  ULIS achieved its 30% revenue growth compared to 2015. Since its inception, the company has an impressive average 20% growth per year. ULIS is part of the Executive IR Imaging Forum program, as speaker and sponsor.
   •  FLIR is still the unchallenged market leader. It has shipped a million Lepton core devices in three years, integrated in over 20 different products… 
Besides FLIR and Ulis, many others players are also benefiting from IR imaging market growth:
   •  SEEK Thermal moves from consumer products to more high-end products, with two new and higher-performance products namely RevealPRO, and CompactPRO.
   •  Players such as BAE Systems or Leonardo DRS are benefiting from the defense market growth cycle.
Newcomers are also introducing their products: for example, Teledyne Dalsa released its first VOx microbolometers in 2017.
In parallel, many companies in China are developing their own microbolometers.

Market indicators are so all there to expect the wide market adoption of uncooled IR imaging technologies. On September 7, in Shenzhen, China, Yole and its partner CIOE offer you a great opportunity to meet the leaders of this industry, understand the latest technical challenges and identify the business opportunities. During the forum, participants, thanks to a powerful agenda, which balanced networking sessions with relevant talks, will debate. The agenda is showing a significant number of inspiring presentations that will also create lot of opportunities to exchange. ULIS, Hikvision, Heimann Sensors, Optris, JIR Infrared, Oxford Instruments, SST Vacuum Reflow Systems, The Australian National University, ENAS Fraunhofer and more are part of the 2017 program. 

Sponsored by Optris, Sunny IR Optics and ULIS, the Executive IR Forum has been created thanks to Yole analysts’ expertise and input from the industrial experts. The consulting company, Yole confirms today its leadership in the IR imaging field and reaffirms its strategy of development within the Greater China area with its collaboration with CIOE. Yole and CIOE enjoy collaborating and building this second edition.
“Both organizations combine their expertise to propose a valuable program to the world’s IR imaging community”, comments Jean-Christophe Eloy, President & CEO at Yole. “The sheer number of attendees proved the success of the previous edition, with almost 50% coming from the Chinese market.”
“During one day, this forum brings together a world class panel of users and application experts,” asserts Eric Yang, Secretary General of CIOE.“The program is a great opportunity for attendees and speakers to get up-to-date insights about the status of the IR imaging industry.”

Go ahead and book your ticket to Shenzhen! 

For more information about Executive IR Imaging Forum, its agenda, sponsorship opportunities and more, please contact: Julie Robert.

A detailed description of the Uncooled Infrared Imagers report is available on i-micronews.com, imaging reports section. 

Acronyms:
IR : Infrared
PVS : Personal Vision System
CAGR : Compound Annual Growth Rate