NEWTON, MA /Marketwire/ -- Over 4000 engineers, scientists, and industry professionals from around the world gathered at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL, June 6–8, for the Sensors Expo & Conference, the leading event in North America focused exclusively on sensors and sensor-integrated systems. The event was co-located with ESC Chicago.
"Following the inspirational opening-day keynote by Dr. Hugh Herr, the content delivered in the conference sessions was compelling and very well attended, meanwhile there was such positive energy on the show floor," said Sensors Event Director Beth Torrey. "We are thrilled that our attendees took advantage of the co-location with ESC and the new features on the show floor, including the MEMS Innovation Area, Energy Harvesting Pavilion, and the Application Showcase Theater."
During the opening-day keynote presentation, Dr. Hugh Herr, Biomechatronics Researcher, spoke to a standing-room-only crowd about the new era of Human 2.0. He addressed the future merging of body and machine, which will not only improve the quality of life for disabled people, but will also allow people with normal physiologies to experience augmented capabilities—cognitively, emotionally, and physically.
On Wednesday morning, Raghu Das, CEO of IDTechEx, spoke about opportunities with new printed electronics. "One day, your wallpaper will be your TV set," Das told the engineering audience. "We are starting to see the impact that printed electronics is having on consumer products in the healthcare field and even with the arts and architecture," he said. "The industry is growing, and there are many opportunities for future applications."
Sensors offered three pre-conference symposia on Monday, June 6, with full-day sessions focused on MEMS commercialization opportunities, energy harvesting and storage, and performance-based sensor selection. The full conference program offered 45 sessions, covering energy harvesting, MEMS, wireless sensor networking, novel approaches to measurement and detection, and cutting-edge applications and technologies.
On the show floor, there were over 140 exhibiting companies, and the overall consensus from the exhibitors was that the event attracted a very strong and qualified audience of sensing technology buyers. Many of the exhibitors were also pleased to see attendees from the embedded systems industry.
"The show went really well for us," said Kurt A. Hochrein, Sales and Marketing Director, Dexter Research Center Inc. "We registered over 300 people in the first few hours of the first day and are happy with the direction the show is going."
"This show works exceedingly well for a technology company like ours that's going after very specific market segments," said Dr. Jim Knutti, President and CEO of Acuity Inc. "Being a part of the technology innovation area worked out great for us because attendees looking to develop new things could come to one location for one-stop shopping."
The Sensors 2011 "Best of Sensors Expo Awards" were presented to exhibitors by Melanie Martella, Executive Editor of Sensors. Gold Award Winners were Austriamicrosystems, InfraTec Infrared LLC/Fraunhofer, Plessey Semiconductor Ltd., and Synkera Technologies Inc. Silver Award Winners were Meggitt Sensing Systems and MicroStrain Inc for two products. Bronze Award Winners were DTS Inc., and Libelium. Honorable Mention awards were presented to GTI Spindle Technology, Hoffman + Krippner Inc., and Nextreme Thermal Solutions. For a complete listing of the award winners, visit Sensors magazine's Web site.
"We are thrilled to have been recognized by Sensors magazine for our Endevco Model 72 product," said Gary Oria, Director of Product Marketing, Meggitt Sensing Systems. "The Sensors Expo has been a great show for us, and we look forward to bringing other divisions of our company to future events."
In the Application Showcase Theater, free educational sessions were presented to standing-room-only crowds. Presenters represented MicroStrain, Cymbet Corp., ROHM Semiconductor, RFM, Linear Technology, PCB Piezotronics, Perpetuum, microGen, Infinite Power Solutions, North Pole Engineering, MESH Systems LLC, and XACT Technology.
About Sensors Expo & Conference
The 2012 event will be held at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL, on Wednesday, June 6, and Thursday, June 7, with the pre-conference workshops set for Tuesday, June 5. Sensors Expo & Conference is the leading sensor event in North America exclusively focusing on sensors and sensor-integrated systems. The conference program is dedicated to exploring the most up-to-date innovations in sensor technology, including physical sensors, sensor networks, biosensors, MEMS/nanotechnology, instrumentation and controls, intelligent systems, machine-to-machine communication, wireless sensing, and IT technology.
The Sensors Expo & Conference is produced and managed by Questex Media Group LLC, a global, diversified business-to-business integrated media and information provider, headquartered in Newton, MA.