IMS Research's new report 'The Worldwide Market for Automotive Sensors' predicts rapid growth in unit sales of automotive laser, radar and image sensors. This is mainly due to a range of driver assistance systems that are being introduced to vehicles.
Accidents are often caused by either driver distraction or a failure to respond quickly enough to dangerous situations. Demand for systems that combat these two problems - such as lane departure warning, blind spot detection, and adaptive cruise control - is therefore expected to grow rapidly over the next decade as manufacturers strive to make journeys safer.
The majority of such driver assistance systems currently use laser or radar sensors. For example, adaptive cruise control systems used in Europe are predominantly radar-based, while those in Japan tend to be laser-based. However, image-based systems are also being developed, and Valeo already supplies an image-based lane departure warning system to Infinity.
Image sensors are also being used for other systems that are expected to become more common over the next decade, such as night vision and occupant detection. In 2014 the market for automotive image sensors is forecast to be almost ten times the size of the market in 2005.
For more information, visit www.imsresearch.com
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