Time-of-Flight Sensor Market Share, Size and Growth Report 2028

[Research Report] The time-of-flight sensor market size is expected to grow from US$ 3,204.98 million in 2022 to US$ 8,426.63 million by 2028; it is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 17.5% from 2022 to 2028.

Image sensor based on time-of-flight technology uses a laser beam to accurately measure the distance to the target object. Therefore, the demand for technology in mobile devices is increasing tremendously, specifically for photography features such as blurring effects and auto-focus. In addition, the demand for 3D facial mapping for features such as facial unlocking of the smartphone is raising the demand for time-of-flight cameras in the market. Owing to the increasing demand for time-of-flight technologies, the market players are working on incorporating the technology into smartphones. In August 2022, Samsung announced that they are working on the ISOCELL Vizion 3D ToF camera sensor. The company will incorporate this technology in its new Galaxy S21 series, which will be released in 2023. Through this technology, the company claims to provide better facial recognition and depth sensing capabilities with an accurate and immersive augmented reality experience.

Moreover, in June 2022, Sony Group Corporation introduced the ToF AR toolkit for AR developers. The application supports Android and iOS devices. ToF AR uses the back-illuminated ToF 3D image sensor to obtain real-time high-resolution and high-precision 3D depth information. It is also ideal for 3D face recognition, 3D scanning, autofocus assistance, and the bokeh effect for cameras. Thus, the growing adoption of time-of-flight technology in smartphones will fuel the growth of the time-of-flight sensors market in the coming years.

Furthermore, time-of-flight sensors are used in manufacturing consumer electronic devices, automotive, medical devices, and various other applications. As a result, its demand in the market is significantly high across the country. Moreover, increasing automotive sales in the US is fueling the growth of the time-of-flight sensor market in the country in 2021. The automotive sector in the US is growing rapidly with increasing capital growth and growing exports. Major automakers announced several investment plans for EVs and AVs. GM announced an investment of US$ 35 billion in automotive industry by 2025. In addition, in September 2022, the US government announced that they would be investing US$ 50 billion in the building of the domestic semiconductor industry, aiming to lower the dependency on China for semiconductors. Thus, the growing government investments in the automotive & semiconductor industries will fuel the growth of the time-of-flight sensor market in the US.

Time-of-Flight Sensor Market - Strategic Insights

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on North America Time-of-Flight Sensor Market Growth

Germany, the UK, France, and Italy were severally affected by the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The pandemic has affected the operations of electronics manufacturers, as manufacturers have to temporarily discontinue manufacturing operations or continue their operations with limited workforces, which adversely impacted product deliveries in 2020. Various automotive manufacturers in the region, such as Mercedes, Volkswagen, Skoda, BMW, and Audi, were struggling to source the components due to the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak—which resulted in disruption in the supply chain, shortage of electronic components, and reduced vehicle sales. However, in 2021, with the relaxation of lockdown measures, the manufacturing business resumed its operations. In addition, as people were working from home, there was a surge in demand for electronic devices. Consumers and businesses purchased new laptops for the staff working remotely. Also, as children were home-schooled, the demand for smartphones, tablets, and laptops increased tremendously. Moreover, in 2022, the time-of-flight sensor market growth was attributed to increased demand for ToF solutions in passenger and commercial vehicles. Thus, all the above factors raised the demand for time-of-flight sensors in Europe.

Lucrative Regions for Time-of-Flight Sensor Market

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Market Insights – Time-of-Flight Sensor Market

Based on geography, the time-of-flight sensor market is primarily segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), Middle East & Africa (MEA), and South America (SAM).

The growing automotive sector is driving the growth of the time-of-flight sensor market in the region. It is one of Europe’s biggest sectors, representing over 7% of the region’s GDP. The presence of established car manufacturers and an increase in the development and sales of electric vehicles will boost the demand for time-of-flight sensors in the coming years. Also, the government of the region is taking various initiatives for the growth of the automotive industry, which will propel the demand for time-of-flight sensors. In 2020, the UK government awarded US$ 57.87 million for various low-carbon automotive projects, including electric vehicle manufacturing.

Further, increased procurement of consumer electronic devices such as smartphones, tablets, and others is a key factor driving the robust industry growth. Also, Europe consists of various key players, such as STMicroelectronics NV, Teledyne e2v (Overseas) Holdings Ltd, and Infineon Technologies AG, which are continuously developing time-of-flight sensors for different applications. All these factors are propelling the growth of the time-of-flight sensor market.

Platform-Based Insights – Time-of-Flight Sensor Market

Based on vertical, the time-of-flight sensor market size is segmented into automotive, consumer electronics, gaming and entertainment, industrial, healthcare, aerospace and defense, and others. The consumer electronics segment is expected to dominate the time-of-flight sensor market in 2022. This is mainly due to the rising penetration of different types of consumer electronic devices such as smartphones, tablets, computers, laptops, etc. Moreover, the rising demand for smartphones with advanced photography features such as auto-focus and blurring effect is further raising the demand for time-of-flight sensors.

Market players operating in the time-of-flight sensor market are mainly focused on the development of advanced and efficient systems.

• In February 2021, Sony Corporation announced that it had developed a stacked direct Time of Flight (ToF) depth sensor for automotive LiDAR using single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) pixels, an industry first.
• In January 2023, Teledyne e2v, a part of Teledyne Technologies, announced the release of its Hydra3D+, a new Time-of-Flight (ToF) CMOS image sensor which incorporates 832 x 600-pixel resolution and is tailored for versatile 3D detection and measurement.