by Shane Henson — June 19, 2013—The market for products using gesture recognition and touchless sensing technology is projected to reach $4.82 billion by 2018 within Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), according to a report released this month by MarketsandMarkets, a U.S.-based global market research and consulting company.
All the major applications, technologies and countries that are and will be important for the EMEA gesture recognition market are identified in the report, Europe Gesture Recognition & Touchless Sensing Market (2013 – 2018) Technology (2D, 3D, Ultrasonic, IR, Capacitive); Product (Biometric, Sanitary); Application (Healthcare, Electronics, Automotive); Region (Germany, U.K., France, Italy, MEA). The touchless sensing market is segmented into two broad level classifications: touchless sanitary equipment and touchless biometrics.
According to the report, the touchless sensing technology market is being driven by several factors, including the products’ low maintenance costs and users’ improved hygiene, government measures introduced to conserve water, and the desire for such products within the tourism and hospitality industries. Products that often utilize touchless sensing technology include faucets, soap dispensers, trash cans, toilets and hand dryers.
Meanwhile, increasing security concerns for both physical and cyber access is the main reason for the growth of the touchless biometric market, says MarketandMarkets.
Gesture recognition technology has been in the market a long time, but the first commercialized touch-less gesture recognition device was launched in 2010. The growing demand for consumer electronics like smartphones and tablets provides a huge potential for this market, according to the report. The gesture recognition technology market also includes technologies like two-dimensional (2D) camera-based, three-dimensional (3D) camera-based, ultrasonic, infrared arrays, and capacitive technology.
