Researchers predict there will be 2.8 trillion intelligent devices in action by 2019.

Looking for the best industry for launching a business? You may want to keep an eye on smart sensors.

These devices don’t just collect data; they curate and filter it. For example, the Nest thermostat will learn your preferences and adjust its settings accordingly. Colorado Micro Devices Inc. has developed a sensor that tells you if you locked your door, and Streetline’s Parker is using such sensors to let users in 35 cities know when street parking spots become available.

A Smarter Future

According to WinterGreen, the current size of the smart sensor market is about 65 million devices, but it is expected to reach 2.8 trillion devices by 2019. Transparency Market Research predicts that sale of intelligent sensors may rise about 10 percent a year to reach $6.9 billion in 2018.

“We are swimming in sensors, and drowning in data,” Dharmendra Modha, a principal investigator at IBM, told Bloomberg. “Sensory data is growing at such a rate that our ability to make sense of it is highly constrained.”

Consequently, the demand for intelligent sensors, which will separate the most relevant data, is on the rise. Rather than just passing on information collected, such sensors also monitor the information’s quality and perform advanced analysis and calculations. This kind of critical data can be utilized for urban planning, smart farming and a multitude of other industries.

“It’s enabling a world of things. It’s going to grow unbelievably fast,” Susan Eustis, president of WinterGreen Research Inc. told Bloomberg. “It’s smart cities, smart buildings, smart water.”