Start-ups in electronics: come shine @ productronica Fast Forward 2019

Elektor’s racing vehicle called Fast Forward has been out on the race track since 2016 when the ‘FFWD’ team made a solid impression at the prestigious electronica trade show in Munich. After an even more successful event last year November, FFWD will be rolled out big time again at productronica 2019 in November. We've only one advice: > PARTICIPATE!

Electronic product manufacturing is a cyclic process, and many startups are sadly unaware of the dangers of jumping in overenthusiastically as well as at the wrong place. This article, a written rendering of a dynamic presentation by Niclas Fritz delivered at the electronica Fast Forward 2018 event, provides solid advice to prevent mistakes right at the beginning.

Showtime! If I say “Welcome to Embedded World 2019”, that’s meant to cover more than the crowded and noisy halls of the Nürnberg Messe between 25 and 28 February — I am also welcoming you to the platform called Elektor Industry, of which this magazine is just a part, and the first of three printed editions for the year 2919. All three are linked to an electronics trade show in Germany, and the line-up for 2019 is: (1) Embedded World, (2) Sensor + Test, and (3) Productronica. In between, we’re active with online articles, news feeds, and social media, from www.elektormagazine.com basecamp.

An honorary mention has been awarded to Cocktail Joe, an affable robotic barman with a light show, at the electronica Fast Forward contest. All through 2018, startup enterprises created by brilliant electronic engineers, have strived in the hope of winning their share of a €150,000 total prize pool. Congratulations to all the finalists, whom you can see in this video of the awards ceremony at Munich.

In an interview with Jan Buiting, Eben Upton explains: “If you can make a device that will withstand a child’s bedroom, it will certainly withstand a factory!” […]. When those who have bought their first RPi for their own edification, at home, then taking it into their professional lives, they have to explain to their colleagues that this board, seen as a toy, is more reliable than a lot of devices that claim to be industrial.”

Because several participants asked for it, here are the presentations from Avnet and EBV.

The Elektor team is proud to launch Elektor Industry, the leading global magazine platform in English and German for talented entrepreneurs, young innovators, designers, start-ups, and scale-ups. Read the electronica 2018 special edition of Elektor Industry now.

Tension to the last minute. The jury has decided! On Friday 16 November 2018 at 12.00 Don Akkermans presented the winners of the Fast Forward Award 2018. Previously seven finalists had competed against each other in short presentations in order to win the coveted prizes with a total value of 150.000 euros.

electronica Fast Forward: the startup platform powered by Elektor provides electronics innovators with a unique opportunity to present their startup companies and prototypes to the worldwide electronics community. The competition’s finalists will present their startups and designs at electronica 2018 (November 13-16, 2019). Visit Hall C5, Booth 225 to discover new business opportunities, discuss new technology, meet forward-thinking entrepreneurs, and attend the awards ceremony.

Whether you are a professional electronics technician or are developing your own projects in "Homelab", electronica is once again a must-attend event in 2018. We have exciting innovations, interesting lectures and of course the latest hardware from our laboratory up our sleeve!