1. Sensor definition

The sensor (English name: transducer/sensor) is a detection device that can sense the measured information and transform the sensed information into electrical signals or other required forms of information output according to certain rules to meet the requirements of information transmission, processing, storage, display, recording and control.

The characteristics of sensors include: miniaturization, digitalization, intelligence, multi-function, systematization and networking. It is the first step to realize automatic detection and automatic control. With the existence and development of sensors, objects have the sense of touch, taste and smell, and gradually become alive.

According to the basic sensing function of the sensor, it can be divided into ten categories: thermal sensor, light sensor, gas sensor, force sensor, magnetic sensor, humidity sensor, acoustic sensor, radiation sensor, color sensor and taste sensor. These can be classified into physical, chemical and biological categories.

Sensors are divided into three categories

Source: Intelligence Research Consulting

Sensor technology is one of the three major components of the new generation of information technology. It is the key and bottleneck for the development of the Internet of Things and its application, and is the key basic component for the development of China's equipment manufacturing industry. Its role is increasingly recognized and valued by industry, science and technology, national defense and military industry, and government decision-making departments.

The strategic position and role of sensors

Source: Intelligence Research Consulting

2. Development history of sensor industry

From the perspective of the development process of domestic industry, in 1986, the country listed sensor technology as a national key project, and by 2000, the sensor technology system and industry were initially established. In 2001, the country listed new sensors as a key research and development project. The technical level of domestic sensors has been improving, gradually narrowing the gap with developed countries. By 2015, a complete industrial chain has been formed, with 6000 kinds of independent products. Since 2016, the domestic sensor technology and industry have developed rapidly. At the same time, driven by the domestic Internet of Things, 5G, artificial intelligence and other technologies, sensors have continued to develop in the direction of MEMS, intelligence, networking and systematization.

Development history of domestic sensor industry

Source: Intelligence Research Consulting

The development of sensors in China has gone through a very uneven path: from scratch to something, from something to everything, from everything to nothing, from nothing to nothing, from nothing to nothing, from nothing to nothing, from nothing to nothing. The understanding of sensors is basically the same from top to bottom, changing the thinking mode of "ship building is better than buying a ship, and buying a ship is better than renting a ship", getting out of the fog of "market for technology", and correctly understanding the view that "the main body of scientific and technological innovation is in the enterprise". Through the efforts of several generations of sensor people, we have made great achievements, made outstanding achievements, had many problems and had a bright future.

Sensor technology has developed from MEMS technology to self-diagnosis technology, and products have also developed from mechanical instruments to intelligent instruments with the development of sensor technology.

Overview of sensor technology development

Source: Intelligence Research Consulting

Development history of sensor technologies

Source: Intelligence Research Consulting

The content of this article is extracted from the《China's sensor industry market depth analysis and prospect report in 2022-2028》

3. Panorama of sensor industry chain

The sensor involves interdisciplinary and multi-disciplinary industries with high technical threshold and long industrial chain. It is a technology-intensive industry with high requirements for raw materials and processes. From the upstream basic principle research to the downstream application, there are six links, including research, design, manufacturing, packaging, testing, and system application. Each link is closely connected and supported by each other. The investment in manufacturing, packaging, testing and other links takes up a large amount of capital. At present, China has formed a complete industrial chain in sensor R&D, design, OEM production, packaging testing and application, but no one enterprise can cover all industrial links.

Panorama of sensor industry chain

Source: Intelligence Research Consulting

4. Analysis of the competitive pattern of the sensor industry

At present, China has formed a research and development system with the Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, State Key Laboratory and colleges and universities as the core. The industrial system with sensor National Engineering Research Center and enterprises as the main body. An application system targeted at the Internet of Things, intelligent manufacturing, artificial intelligence, consumer electronics, livelihood engineering, etc. China's sensor technology research and development system is strong, including 17 research institutes and 35 colleges and universities; The industrial system is mainly composed of China's major sensor manufacturing enterprises and the National Engineering Research Center for sensors; The downstream applications of sensors are relatively extensive, which can be applied to the Internet of Things, intelligent manufacturing, artificial intelligence, consumer electronics and various livelihood projects.

Construction of China's sensor system

Source: Intelligence Research Consulting

At present, the representative sensor enterprises in China include Sensor National Engineering Research Center (Shenyang Instrument Science Research Institute Co., Ltd. (a representative enterprise with comprehensive strength), Aerospace Long March Rocket Technology Co., Ltd. (Aerospace 704 Institute) (a representative enterprise of aerospace sensors), Zhengzhou Hanwei Technology Group Co., Ltd. (a representative enterprise of gas and humidity sensors and sensor applications), etc. At present, the layout of China's sensor enterprises is relatively complete, and the variety of sensors is relatively complete.

List of representative domestic sensor enterprises

Source: Intelligence Research Consulting

5. Market scale and segmented product structure of sensor industry

In recent years, under the background of rapid evolution of automation and informatization, sensors have become an indispensable presence in industrial development. With the continuous development of cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things and 5G, the scale of sensors in the domestic market continues to expand. The scale of China's sensor market in 2021 is about 297.51 billion yuan, up 18.74% from 250.56 billion yuan in 2020.

Market size of China's sensor industry in 2016-2021

Source: Intelligence Research Consulting

In 2021, the market size of China's sensor industry will reach 297.51 billion yuan, including 53.11 billion yuan of pressure sensor market, accounting for 17.85%; The market scale of flow sensor is 30.35 billion yuan, accounting for 10.20%; The market scale of temperature sensor is 22.91 billion yuan, accounting for 7.70%; The market scale of biosensors is 19.66 billion yuan, accounting for 6.61%; The market size of image sensor is 30.55 billion yuan, accounting for 10.27%.

China's sensor segmentation product structure in 2021

Source: Intelligence Research Consulting

6. Prediction of market size of sensor industry

In recent years, with the rapid development of China's Internet of Things industry, sensors, as one of the core and key components of China's "strong foundation project", are the main components of realizing the transformation and upgrading of Industry 4.0 and improving the intelligence and reliability of various devices. The market scale and application scenarios of sensors in China have also been further increased. With the strategic position of developing 5G and the Internet of Things gradually becoming clear during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, the market scale of sensors as the only functional device for data acquisition will gradually expand in the future. It is expected that the scale of China's sensor market will increase to 605.68 billion yuan by 2028.

Forecast of China's sensor market size from 2022 to 2028

Source: Intelligence Research Consulting

For the above data and information, please refer to the《China's sensor industry market depth analysis and prospect report in 2022-2028》。 Smart Research Consulting is a leading industrial consulting agency in China, providing one-stop industrial consulting services such as in-depth industrial research reports, business plans, feasibility studies and customized services. You can follow the official account of [Smart Research Consulting] to keep abreast of more industry trends every day.