The future of structural electronics

Imagine aircraft and cars with “nervous systems” that alert to touch and damage. Or, a smart skin made of insulating fiber composites on vehicles, buildings and other structures that can perform functions like electricity generation and storage, or diversion of lightning strikes. This brave new world of structural electronics is not so distant in the future, according to the IDTechEx report “Structural Electronics 2015-2025: Applications, Technologies, Forecasts.” The report provides 10-year forecasts for structural electronics and key enabling technologies. It discusses technologies used now and in the future from in-mold electronics to electronic 3D printing of load-bearing structures, structural metamaterials and energy harvesting such as structural photovoltaics.