Records broken at embedded world 2019

Equally successful were the embedded world and electronic displays conferences, where some 2,000 delegates and speakers from 46 countries enjoyed a top-class programme.

Richard Krowoza from the NürnbergMesse Management Board, said: “In the almost two decades since its debut, embedded world has undergone a positive development. And the event put on an impressive display all over again in 2019. A total of 1,117 companies from 42 countries, almost 100 more than in the previous year, showcased their solutions to the around 31,000 trade visitors from 84 countries.

The proportion of international exhibitors increased once again to 56%, while display area was up again by eight percent. These are the highest KPIs for the fair to date for both exhibitor numbers and display area, and we continue to see potential in this dynamic market. But it is not just the sheer numbers that impress this year; it’s also about the positive mood in the halls and at the conferences, where the community mindset is very much in evidence.”

This year too, embedded world was a hit with its community of professionals, with 97% of trade visitors stating even before the event was over that they would be taking part again in 2020, and more than 96% indicating their satisfaction with embedded world. The feedback was equally positive from exhibiting companies, 90% of which stated that they would book a stand again in 2020. Around 94% managed to reach their target groups, and nine out of ten expected follow-on business from the event.

For 2019, the embedded world conference chose ‘embedded intelligence’ as its key theme. Not just the connection to high-performance computers in the cloud, but also the capabilities of processors and integrated circuits in the embedded sector, and the availability of suitable algorithms have improved so much and/or have become so inexpensive, that new technologies like machine learning and artificial intelligence are being used in more and more applications. This will open the door to completely new systems that perceive the environment autonomously, draw conclusions and make partially or fully autonomous decisions. 

Professor Axel Sikora, chairman of the embedded world conference and advisory board, added: “At the embedded world conference, the comprehensive content we offered on ‘embedded intelligence’ provided very good insights into a topical issue. The conference once again demonstrated the importance of knowledge-sharing among experts, particularly in the case of highly topical issues.”

The highlights of the embedded world conference were the keynotes on the first and second day. Jim Tung, Mathworks Fellow, spoke on the first day about ‘Developing Game-Changing Embedded Intelligence’. Jean-Marc Chery, CEO and President of STMicroelectronics, devoted his keynote on the second day to ‘Embedded intelligence for the next wave of smart systems – Opportunities and challenges on the edge’.

The electronic displays conference is an important European B2B platform for display technologies.

Professor Karl Heinz Blankenbach, chair of the congress advisory council for the electronic displays conference, stated: “The conference, which has grown yet again, was an outstanding event. The feedback from participants shows that this year’s topics once again hit the spot. A genuine success model is also the electronic displays area, which was larger than ever.” 

This year, the spotlight was on the latest display technologies like LCD, touch screens, optical bonding, display systems and cutting-edge HDR technology. The highlights were keynotes on display trends and micro LEDs, four sessions on automotive displays and other high-calibre sessions on measuring technology, e-signage, applications and optimisations.

Alongside the regular top-class discussion panels ‘Safe for the Future’ and ‘Embedded Vision & Machine Learning’ on the second day of the fair, the event featured another two high-calibre round tables for the first time this year focusing on the highly topical issues ‘Embedded Intelligence’ and ‘RISC-V’.

Speaking on behalf of all the moderators, Professor Sikora said: “The concept of expert talks in the forums at the heart of the trade fair action was a big hit again this year. There were lively, highly professional discussions among the speakers, but also with the audience. The feedback shows that we were spot on with both the topics and the format as a way of picking up current issues and defining trends. The two new expert talks on ‘Embedded Intelligence’ and ‘RISC-V’ also impressed the professionals at the venue. The new ‘Talk & Walk’ format, which offered guided tours of the exhibition on associated themes following the panel discussions, also proved very popular.”

The theoretical insights imparted at the conferences were reinforced in more detail at the special display areas M2M, electronic displays and safety & security and at the pavilions for young innovative companies. The new Start-up Area also celebrated a successful debut.

For the first time, international newcomers presented their companies at the Startup Area. 

Benedikt Weyerer, Exhibition Director of embedded world at NürnbergMesse, added: “The Start-up Area was clear evidence of the wealth of ideas and innovative strength among newcomers to the embedded community. It is very gratifying that we were able to interest so many young entrepreneurs in embedded world right from the outset. In this its first year, this area was fully booked. We will certainly continue to expand our support for start-ups and develop the content of this area.”

Young innovative companies presented their top products and innovations at their own pavilion, which is subsidised by the BMWi, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.

The highly coveted embedded awards were presented in two additional categories in 2019. Alongside the established categories Hardware, Software and Tools, the new categories Embedded Vision and Start-ups were added.

The winners were: Ultrahaptics won the hardware category with its ultra-haptic module ‘STRATOS Inspire’. Hitex impressed with its AURIX SafeTpack in der software category. GÖPEL electronic won the tools category with its ChipVORX SI. For its dart BCON for MIPI Development Kit, Basler won first prize in the new category ‘Embedded Vision’, while Wisebatt won the new ‘Start-up’ category with its simulation tool for optimising electronic designs.

The embedded world Student Day celebrated a mini-anniversary, as it took place for the 10th time in 2019. Over the last decade, the Student Day has offered students first-class information about the industry and a chance to broaden their horizons. More than 1,000 students from throughout Europe attended the Student Day. The highlight was the lecture by Professor Ralf G. Herrtwich from Nvidia and the Technical University of Berlin, who spoke on ‘Maps as Collective Brains for Vehicle Automation’.