by 
Some of the deadliest threats to human lives are things that can’t be seen, heard, smelled or touched. In fact, scents are added to substances such as natural gas so leaks can be identified before they overwhelm victims—or explode.
Technology can also help avert disasters. Scent technology is expected to grow rapidly, by 30.4 percent, to reach $691 million by 2020, according to “Digital Scent Technology Market by Hardware devices, End-user, End-product & Geography – Forecast to 2020.” The digital scent technology market is being driven by various factors such as nose based quality assessment of raw material in the food & beverage industry, and the e-nose application for clinical diagnosis.
To date, major restraints for this market have been substitutes used for detecting explosives in the military and defense applications and the high cost of digital scent technology. These restraints are acting as barriers for the growth of the digital scent technology market. Major opportunities in the digital scent technology market area include the applications of “e-nose” in the security and military sectors. These opportunities are expected to boost the digital scent technology market. Major challenges for digital scent technology market are chemicals that may harm human health, and the unpredictability of air flow.
North America accounted for the largest market share in the digital scent technology market, due to a significant presence of key players such as Smiths Detection Inc. (U.S.), ScentSational Technologies LLC (U.S.), and Scent Sciences Corporation (U.S.). However, the market in Europe is estimated to grow at the highest rate between 2015 and 2020.
The gas detection subset of the market is forecast to reach $3,372.0 million by 2022, according to a new report “Gas Detection Equipment Market – Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2014 – 2022,” published by Transparency Market Research. Factors driving the growth of global gas detection equipment market include increasing concerns about occupational health and safety coupled with rise in demand for wireless gas detectors market. The increase in demand from oil and gas industry is another factor driving the market for gas detection equipment.
The global gas detection equipment market was valued at $2,196.0 million in 2013 and the market is forecast to grow at 5.0 percent CAGR from 2014 to 2022. Increasing adoption across varied end-use verticals, especially oil and gas and building automation is expected to fuel market momentum. However, the building automation segment is expected to witness the fastest growth, at a CAGR of 6.6 percent between 2014 and 2022. Fixed gas detection equipment was the largest product segment, accounting for around 58.4 percent of the overall market revenue in 2013.
However, portable gas detection equipment is poised to exhibit maximum growth over the forecast period. The market for portable gas detection equipment is mainly driven by growing preference for flexible, portable equipment for gas leak detection, especially in confined areas with limited access. In terms of geography, North America and Europe were the two largest contributors to the global gas detection equipment market in 2013. However, over the forecast period, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Latin America are expected to exhibit robust growth. The market for gas detection equipment in Middle East and African countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and United Arab Emirates is driven by the demand from oil and gas industry in the region.
The global gas detection equipment market is highly fragmented and competitive. Major industry participants include Dragerwerk Co., Industrial Scientific Corporation, Siemens AG, Honeywell Analytics, Mine Safety Appliances, and RAE Systems, among others.
