International. Recent advances and ongoing improvements will help the rapid, low-cost, development of smart materials, and the next wave of innovation will be in self-healing coatings and parts, according to Lux Research.
Smart materials – those that change their properties in response to environmental stimuli, providing dynamic functionality – range from everyday items such as photosensitive lenses that obscure sunlight to ceramics and nanocomposites used in complex electronics. Emerging classes of smart materials include self-healing materials and sensing materials, each of which has many potential applications.
Analysts from Lux Research studied advances in the development of smart materials and their adoption by industry. Among his findings:
The focus is on self-healing materials. With applications in composite materials and coatings, self-healing materials are set to be the next frontier for smart materials. Such materials will repair damage to themselves automatically through one of many chemical mechanisms.
Several companies have patents. More than 300,000 patents have been granted across all families of smart materials even though few mention the term "smart material" in their titles, abstracts or claims. Patent applications peaked in 2012 at around 100,000, and major patent holders include companies such as Siemens, IBM, GE and Samsung.
The analysis indicates that marketing can happen quickly when conditions are right. Many kinds of smart materials had long incubation times, but were quickly commercialized when the time was right. Piezoelectric materials were always relegated to niche applications that were previously booming, due to the adoption of conventional products such as inkjet printers, digital cameras and smartphones.
