Strategic key market application areas demanding for flexible circuits include customized low-costs circuits for customer electronics as sensors, keypads or heaters for household appliances, industrial machinery and automotive. On those areas the demand for thin, flexible, low-costs, lightweight and intelligent circuits to be added to the products is growing rapidly. The remarkably swift development of flexible and printed electronics is promoting new possibilities for cost-effective manufacturing of electronic devices. However, compared with silicon-based circuits, state-of-the-art all-printed circuits are encountering low integration density, long switching time and corresponding high cost per function. It means that printed components are still far away of the complex functionality and processing capability of the silicon ones. In consequence, the current technologies like the silicon and the printed electronics are not satisfying those new challenges.
To fill the gap between fully-printed electronics and the expansive market of the intelligent objects, hybrid circuits, i.e. printed circuits including silicon-based components, have appeared in the market and are in increasing demand. They employ cost-effective, large-area manufacturing techniques while keeping the same complex functionality and processing capability as silicon-based systems. However, due to the difficulty of assembling silicon components to plastic circuits, they use complex materials and processes. In consequence, those hybrid solutions are still quite expensive for a wide market uptake and their market is limited to ‘high range’ applications like complex aircraft electronics, OLED displays, professional video cameras, etc., that can absorb the high price, leaving out a wide range of lower cost applications like flexible keypads, customized heaters, flexible sensors, etc.
The feasibility study has allowed VIVAINNOVA to detect two UFPC products with great commercial potential in the market, and define the new strategies and conclusions for UFPC technology project to reach the market:
The direct contact with OEM manufacturers and suppliers has been very useful to detect the necessity of developing 2 different applications well adapted to the end user needs:
o Intelligent occupant detector and heating system for passenger seats in vehicles.
o Capacitive touch sensors-keypads for household appliances or industrial machines.
Occupant detectors and heaters have been selected after several discussions with one supplier of an important car manufacturer who show us their great commercial potential. Occupancy detectors are mainly used to activate belt reminders. Seat belt reminders for ALL passenger seats will be mandatory in Europe on new vehicles types in 2019 and for all new vehicles in 2023. We will be the 1st company proposing a solution integrating occupancy detectors in ALL passenger’s seats and flexible heaters allowing to increase safety and comfort of the passengers with a robust and cost-effective solution.
We have also been working very closely with domestic appliances and industrial machines leaders on the specifications of UFPC capacitive touch sensors for their machines. The crucial factors for the mass adoption of the capacitive touch sensors are “low-cost, flexibility and easy-to-use”. Our solution fulfill these requirements and allow capacitive touchscreens to be massively installed on household appliances, industrial machines and all type of electronic devices requiring human interface. Our solution is as stylish as practical. We aim to expand the UFPC adoption to the highest range of products of our partners. Our unique selling points are the reduction of the manufacturing cost of capacitive touch sensors by up to 50% compared with the current solutions, and the sensors integration in complex forms.
The conclusion of the freedom to operate analysis is that there are no patents, which might prevent the patentability and commercial exploitation of the UFPC technology results. In fact, UFPC technology has two patents. Considering that the project is going to develop new products in very innovative applications that can be patented for the innovation introduced by several aspects of functionality and circuit’s layout, VIVAINNOVA will ensure a structured process to identify, assess, protect and subsequently exploiting the IPR generated during the project. VIVAINNOVA will be responsible for the application of patent application.
