Industry analyst NanoMarkets forecasts that, by 2016, sales of printed and large-area sensors could top $6 billion (£3.6 billion).
By 2014, sensors are predicted to have passed the $4 billion benchmark, driven by their adoption for textiles, environmental monitoring, and genetic and proteomic testing devices.
Printed sensors in particular are predicted to experience rising interest in the years to come.
NanoMarkets explains: "Printing will enable low-cost sensors to replace the current costly and time-intensive monitoring techniques for environmental testing at a time when such testing is increasingly required by government authorities."
Large-area sensors, while more of a niche market, are also predicted to face growing demand due to their low cost when compared with conventional arrays of sensors.
Beyond the immediate future, NanoMarkets also predicts that sensors could be in greater demand from the small-scale robotics sector, adding to the market's momentum further.
