"As usual, we are expecting slightly fewer exhibitors this year than last year, as the ettc - European Test and Telemetry Conference, which takes place at the same time in 2018, will not be held together with Sensor+Test again until 2020. In addition, our new trade fair date in the last week of June has not yet been fully planned by all exhibitors. Nevertheless, we are currently expecting around 530 exhibitors from Germany and abroad to take part. Companies and institutes from 30 countries have already announced a large number of innovations," explained Holger Bödeker, Managing Director of the organizing AMA Service.

Supporting program
The exhibitors' presentations submitted for the supporting program still have to pass the quality check by an expert committee consisting of members of the AMA Council of Elders before they are finally accepted. Holger Bödeker comments: "The quality of the submissions for the presentation forums has increased significantly as a result of this measure. Above all, visitors to our trade fair will benefit from this. We can already look forward to a highly attractive program."

This year's special topic of the trade fair - sensor and measurement technology for process automation - is not only very popular among the presentations. The special forum on this topic is also almost fully booked. There is also lively demand for the state-subsidized participation in the joint stand "Innovation Made in Germany" for young innovative companies. This is being sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Economics for the twelfth time in a row in 2019.

New congress schedule
In a departure from the usual schedule, Sensor+Test will once again be accompanied by the 20th GMA/ITG Sensors and Measurement Systems Conference 2019 this year. The previous AMA congresses Sensor and ^IRS2 will then be integrated into the new international conference SMSI 2020 - Sensor and Measurement Science International from 2020.

Four teams nominated for Innovation Award
This year, the AMA Association for Sensors and Measurement has nominated four applications for the 2019 Innovation Award, which is endowed with 10,000 euros in prize money. This year's call for applications was answered by 38 research and development teams from Germany and abroad. A total of eleven young companies also applied for the special "Young Company" award. They have been on the market for less than five years, employ fewer than 50 people and generate an annual turnover of less than ten million euros.

This year, the Senorics team won the 2019 special prize for "Plan B", a compact analysis device for small breweries. The winning team receives a free trade fair appearance in Nuremberg and is still among the nominees for the Innovation Award.

Nominated for the Innovation Award are: Holoport - interferometer for machine tools (Fraunhofer Institute IPM, Freiburg), Plan B - compact analysis device for small breweries (Senorics, Dresden), computing core for machine learning embedded in a 6-axis inertial measurement unit (STMicroelectronics, Cornaredo/Italy), and XperYenZ - fiber optic sensor for absolute distance measurement (trinamiX, Ludwigshafen). The winner(s) will be announced on June 25, 2019 at the opening event of the in Nuremberg. as