At SEMICON West, the SEMI MEMS and Sensors Industry Group (MSIG) showcased how advances in sensor miniaturization, integration, and edge intelligence are reshaping mobility, automation, and the environment. From synthetic perception to infrared AI and sensor-driven autonomy, the TechTALKS session revealed a clear theme: sensors aren’t just collecting data — they’re defining how the world will see and act in real time.
Three Sensor Trends to Watch
Intelligence at the Edge
STMicroelectronics’ dual-accelerometer IMU illustrated how in-sensor compute delivers context-aware functionality — recognizing events like impacts, motion, or orientation without taxing system-level power or latency. Embedded finite-state machines and ML-based logic make smart sensors the first step in real-time decision loops.
Synthetic Perception and New Markets
Silex Microsystems framed MEMS as the enabler of “synthetic perception” for AI systems that must see, hear, and sense their environments. Emerging applications span wearables, AR/VR, quantum photonics, and telecom infrastructure — markets accelerated by new 12-inch manufacturing capacity and heterogeneous integration of optical and mechanical functions.
From Autonomy to Awareness
Waymo and Boston Dynamics demonstrated how sensor fusion and AI extend autonomy from vehicles to robots. Waymo’s foundation model for perception integrates LiDAR, RADAR, and vision to navigate dense urban domains; Boston Dynamics’ Spot records thermal, acoustic, and visual data for predictive maintenance and facility analytics. Both examples show how continuous sensor streams fuel safer, smarter operations.
Why It Matters
- Sensors define how autonomous and AI systems perceive reality.
- Integration of compute and context at the edge reduces latency and power.
- Manufacturing capacity and standardization are critical to scaling innovation from lab to market.
- Cross-sector applications — from mobility to sustainability — depend on the sensor ecosystem that MSIG connects.
What to Watch
- Silex announced a new 8” MEMS Foundry Fab that will be located in the US starting in 2026. Further expansion of their MEMS foundry capacity is projected to be a 12-inch fab ramp in 2028–2029.
- Growth in context-aware IMUs and low-power AI sensor nodes.
Advances in infrared and spectral sensing for sustainability use cases.
Source: TechTALKS: Sensing Tomorrow: Emerging Applications for MEMS & Sensor Technologies, SEMICON West 2025. Moderator: Paul Carey, PhD (SEMI). Speakers: Tim Brosnihan (Silex Microsystems); Matteo Fusi (STMicroelectronics); Venkataraman Chandrasekaran (Meta); James (Jae-Hyung) Lee (Stratio); Yeh-Jiunn Tung (Waymo); John Weiler (Boston Dynamics).
