We need to set up a sensor technology research center in order to move forward the robot and Internet of Things (IoT) industries, the two most promising cutting-edge tech sectors.
By doing so, we can foster new creative state-of-the-art industries and create high-quality jobs, thus powering economic growth over the next 20 years.
The success of these industries hinges on whether we can have a head start on others in developing high-performance sensors in large quantities.
We need to nurture talent to develop such technologies, a task that Korean SMEs have to assume.
There are a plethora of sensors, such as thermal sensors, motion sensors, pressure sensors, sound sensors, sound classification sensors, humidity sensors, chemical sensors, photosensors, tactile sensors, distance measurement sensors, speed sensors, direction sensors, electronic noses, altitude & location sensors, color sensors and wind speed sensors.
On the medical front, there are tumor detectors, cancer cell locators and disease-specific detection sensors. Tens of or hundreds of other sensors of different sensing ranges will be further developed in each field.
Take chemical sensors for example. There are various chemical sensors (e.g. carbon monoxide detectors) and sensors of toxic gases and hazardous substance like sulphuric acid and hydrochloric acid.
According to sensors’ sensing power and sensitivity, the sensor technology field can be further segmented with much more application areas.
Development of a variety of sensors requires the creation of many more SMEs, which will in turn create high-quality jobs at the SME level.
Development of high-performance sensors will usher in an era of intelligent robots with sensory abilities that outwit the five basic human senses, as well as the era of the IoT.
The government should drastically invest in pioneering and creative research sectors. By encouraging industry to look ahead, the government can move forward with its creative economy initiative and create more high-quality jobs through the creation of more startups.
By Jung Yeon-tae, Chairman of the Creative Economy Policy Forum
