by Richard Dixon and Jérémie Bouchaud, Wicht Technologie Consulting
The market for MEMS inertial sensors (accelerometers and gyroscopes) is set to grow from $835 million in 2004 to over $1360 million in 2009 — a CAGR of 10%. Currently, the main applications are in the automotive industry. These markets are well established and growth rates range from a stagnant 1% for airbag acceleration sensors up to 8% for gyroscopes used in ESP units and GPS navigation assistance.
Much more exciting for MEMS inertial sensors is the market opportunity for mobile applications and consumer electronics (see table). Over the next few years, we predict annual growth rates exceeding 30% for accelerometers. Mobile phones in particular will provide multi-axis accelerometers with interesting opportunities in menu navigation, gaming, image rotation, pedo-meters, GPS navigation and the like. Gyroscopes are largely servicing markets for image stabilization and HDD protection in camcorders.
