After much preparation it’s finally here: On the first day of electronica 2016 held here in Munich we can now begin the final stage of the Fast Forward Start-up Awards organized by Elektor together with the Munich trade fair organization. On the first morning the Elektor CEO Don Akkermans welcomed the 35 competition finalists who made their way to Munich from places as far afield as Siberia and Australia. Roman Ludin from ST kicked off  proceedings with a fascinating presentation on board and applications development.

The forum, at the heart of the 500 square meters stand then became the focus of activity as the finalists pitched there ideas and products to the judges and audience. In the ‘Idea’ category there is an interesting (and now patented) new process developed enabling the use of SMD components with prototype boards. Two other presentations focussed on the monitoring of water supplies in arid lands while another presented the design of an IC which converts sensor signal gradients into a finely resolved square wave signal.

On Wednesday and Thursday we will be hosting more presentations at the forum and also we have specialists on hand giving presentations and lectures at the Elektor stand at the hall’s eastern entrance. Friday is the final day and we will be choosing the lucky winners of the Fast Forward Start-up awards. At our stand you can also see presentations of the Red Pitaya instrument system along with lots of hardware and projects from the Elektor labs. Drop by and join in the fun!