Nothing lasts forever: things wear out. However, there is a huge pent up demand for "perpetual" autonomous drones for everything from security to surveying, meteorology and even power generation.

IDTechEx finds that the construction, agriculture and mining part alone will be an $81 billion market in 2027 with considerable opportunities for consolidation of players and technological breakthroughs with major market disruption and creation.

A prediction by analysts IDTechEx is turning out to be true.The window of opportunity is closing for fuel cell on-road vehicles to become mainstream.

In this article, we will briefly outline the progress in multiple emerging sectors whilst also identifying the latest trendy nascent application areas.

In 2017, China has moved further against lead acid batteries and the horrific injuries and deaths they cause in China at the smelting and disposal stages.

"Death by a Thousand Cuts" was the brutal appraisal of the power generation goliaths by Jeffrey Eckel of Hannon Armstrong, the leading energy investment house, at the Barclays Future Energy Conference December 2016 in London.

his useful half day conference revealed the views of motor company and academic experts and a user/ reviewer of electric cars.

Analysts at IDTechEx have issued a new report, Electric Boats and Ships 2017-2027 looking at this fragmented but often highly profitable and growing sector.

Beaming the internet to the 4.5 billion people that do not have it should be massively profitable.

IDTechEx expects EVs to create significant electricity demand in about ten years and be key to huge improvements in local noise and air pollution and in global warming reduction.

Jaguar Land Rover wants half its cars to be available in an electric version by the end of the decade, after showcasing its first electric car at the Los Angeles Auto Show earlier this month.

Dick Wallis, CEO of Positioning Systems in the UK has sent IDTechEx a visionary proposal for a new combined airport, smart city and green electricity supply in Wales in the UK.

While in Santa Clara for the IDTechEx Show, technology analyst Dr David Pugh met with staff at Levi's Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers. The 68,500 capacity stadium was opened in 2014 and is one of the most technologically enabled entertainment venues in the world.

The new IDTechEx report, Electric Car Technology and Forecasts 2017-2027 finds that the biggest change in cars for one hundred years is now starting. It is driven by totally new requirements and capabilities.

From the Exhibition Hall at the IDTechEx Show! in Santa Clara last week came a wide variety of new product announcements and press releases. Here we summarize some of the announcements.

Researched in late 2016 with ongoing updates, the new IDTechEx report on the Internet of Things is intended to assist investors, participants and intending participants and users.

The very structure of the bus is changing with electrics, mechanics and electronics previously made as "components-in-a-box" being replaced by structural electronics - the roof is the solar, the dashboard is the instruments - all as smart materials.

Buses are very important. Injuries and deaths from two wheelers have not reduced very much in decades whereas vehicles with four wheels or more have seen huge improvements.

Autonomous vehicles need no pilot, not even one in reserve. Many truly autonomous vehicles are unmanned mobile robots prowling everywhere from the ocean depths to nuclear power stations, the upper atmosphere and outer space.

Debuts in North America; Event Also Features Presentations from Major Car Companies Including Ford, Nissan, Porsche and Toyota