Sensing growth

They can check your car’s tyre pressure, oil and fuel levels, temperature, speed, occupant weight and even trigger devices to steer you away from trouble when the need arises. With as many as 50 sensors hidden in a mid-range car today, this market is booming. Matthew Beecham, author of a new study on automotive sensors, analyses this expanding sector.

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Essentially, sensors convert physical variables into electrical signals. While certain types of sensor have long since featured inside vehicles (for example oil pressure, coolant temperature, vehicle speed and fuel level sensors), new applications are emerging, particularly in the emissions and safety related areas.

Advanced electronic braking systems, electronic stability programme (ESP) systems and active suspension are also pushing market growth.

As the electronic content in vehicles increases – driven by consumer demand for increased safety, security, comfort and convenience features as well as by increasingly strict government regulations concerning air quality (emissions) – demand for automotive sensor applications will continue to grow unabated.

Denso believes that safety and environment are key fields for automotive sensors. A spokeswoman for Denso said: “In the field of safety, while improving each safety system including braking, steering control and airbag sensing systems, those systems will be integrated in the future. We anticipate this movement will require sensors to have higher capabilities and/or be integrated with other sensors. Also safety systems will require sensors to more closely monitor the environment around vehicles, including road conditions and vehicle running conditions. We believe these movements will be two of the factors driving demand for automotive sensors. In the field of the environment, one factor is emission regulations becoming more stringent worldwide, which require sensors to more precisely detect exhaust gas conditions including air fuel ratio, temperature and amounts of pollutants to reduce emissions. Another factor is next-generation vehicles such as hybrid and fuel cell vehicles, which will create new demands for sensors.”

One of the biggest migrations in sensor technology has been the shift from analogue to active (or digital), introducing sensors with integrated computing capability. In Europe, the industry is gradually moving from first to second generation active sensor technology, aimed mainly at providing a compensated and processed signal. Some of the notable technology trends with micro electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) are the move to smaller sensors, extended range of sensing, improved sensing accuracy, more integrated functions and features and solid state sensing.

In contrast to traditional electro-mechanical sensor technology, MEMS uses a special manufacturing and product technology process to integrate micron-sized electrical and mechanical components on single silicon crystals. They are typically integrated with chips to become ‘intelligent’. The manufacturing technique is very similar to those used in making integrated circuits.

MEMS technology is gradually replacing electro-mechanical devices in automotive applications through substitution (e.g. airbag sensors and air conditioning) or as a result of additional demand, (e.g. stability control systems, rollover detection and tyre pressure sensors). MEMS-based sensors are said to be growing several times faster than the overall sensor market.

Bosch is one of the world’s largest suppliers of MEMS-based sensors. Bosch will produce more than 75 million MEMS sensors in 2004, accounting for about half its total sensor volume. The supplier began producing MEMS in 1993, supplying acceleration sensors for airbags.

A new report by ABOUT Automotive and Auto Research Analysts focuses on four main types of sensor – position, acceleration, pressure and temperature – determining some product trends and forecast fitment levels for each type of sensor used in passenger cars in each major vehicle-producing region through 2010. The study also includes detailed European market shares for accelerator pedal position, throttle position, oil sensor position and level sensor markets for 2003 and 2007.

Position sensors, for example, (displacement/angle) use both contact wipers and contactless (proximity) designs to register displacement and angle. Typical applications include: steering wheel angle, steering angle, brake pedal angle, throttle valve position, seat and mirror position, control-rod travel and position, fuel level, sensor flap deflection angle (flow rate) and torsion angle (torque).

The main producers of position sensors in Europe include Hella, AB Electronics, Bosch, CTS, Bitron, Teleflex, Novotech, Ruf, Preh-Werke, Denso, Bourns, Philips, Temic, TT Group, Wabash Technologies, Alps Electric, Gentech International and Ranco Controls.

Germany’s lighting and electronics specialist, Hella, leads the European accelerator pedal sensor market with a 53% share. Hella was the first manufacturer to develop integrated electronic accelerator pedals for diesel and petrol engines for passenger cars and electric vehicles using power-by-wire. Hella’s accelerator pedal sensor has been designed to accommodate the accelerator pedal and position sensors in one modular structural unit. Since its launch in 1998, Hella has produced more than ten million units.

The study concludes how sensors for passenger safety applications are showing massive growth prospects, with tyre pressure, run-flat tyres, driver assistance and occupant position sensing pushing demand. In addition, the penetration of EPS and electronic braking systems is fuelling demand in Europe, ahead of the US. As the average number of sensors per car increases year-on-year, the study forecasts total revenues increasing by about 39% between 2004 and 2010.

Automotive sensor market volume, Western Europe, Japan, North America, China, South Korea and Brazil, 2000 – 2010 (million units)

Source: ABOUT Automotive / Auto Research Analysts.

Further details on the automotive sensor market can be found in this exclusive new report published by ABOUT Automotive and Auto Research Analysts: Automotive sensors: market shares, trends companies and forecasts to 2010. Click here for details.

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