Strong attendance by major end users and leading industry players at the “Electronics Day” in Milan saw the electronics manufacturing industry’s most vibrant thought leadership symposium activate focused discussions on key business and technology issues on May 28 and 29. Focus of the year was on the future of automotive
Once again bringing together analysts, leading experts and visionaries from the industry to debate the latest trends spanning the electronics manufacturing value chain, the event explored disruptive innovation with particular attention given to the growth potential and emerging trends being seen within the automotive sector. The conference was hosted by Sophie B. de la Giroday, Publisher of OnBoard Technology and President of Wise Media, and saw IMAPS, IEEE RS, as well as ANITEC engaged as Supporting Organizations.
One of the highlights was an estimable presentation from the ‘father’ of MEMS at STMicroelectronics, Bruno Murari, who mapped the evolution of one of the electronics industry’s most disruptive innovations from its inception to its place in a big variety of modern devices today. Questions from the automotive manufacturers participating in the event aimed at understanding how and when Micro Electro Mechanical Systems will play significant role in automotive. “In just a few decades our advanced devices created a market that from zero, reached over one billion dollars in sales,” said Bruno Murari. “We are highly present in the consumer electronics market, with our accelerometers having become a standard to apply in such things as toner cartridges, airbags, smartphone and tablet interfaces and even game consoles. We have held back until now from what we will next achieve in terms of mass penetration in the automotive sector, wanting to reach levels of quality in the parts per million”.
The conference program saw the active participation of key experts who illustrated how technology and innovation can enable and advance sustainable electronics manufacturing in key sectors such as automotive and healthcare. Speakers included representatives from STMicroelectronics, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, FIAT, Confindustria Digitale, Automobile Club Italia, IEEE RS Italy, Frost & Sullivan, Magneti Marelli, Eletech, Flextronics, Koh Young, Gest Labs and SPEA.
Specialist topics presented and discussed throughout the day included insightful talks ranging from the implications on telematics and connectivity in automotive, lighting innovations and reliability of power components to new departures in the design and development of safety critical medical devices. Top players such as Bosch, TomTom, Koh Young and Flextronics were among the exhibitors completing the “Automotive Innovation” experience enjoyed by the audience gathered in Milan for the Electronics Day.
The fourth Electronics Day held in Italy, which opened its doors on May 29 took place under the patronage of the Italian Presidency of the Council of Ministers and the Ministry of Economic Development. The event was endorsed by the European Commission and was sponsored by Flextronics and Koh Young.
The next high profile gathering on the SEM Working Group’s calendar of events will see us draw conclusions after a year of investigation and debate at the Sustainable Development Awards ceremony being held on the occasion of Productronica in Munich on November 12, where the Sustainability Summit’s Working Groups will convene to celebrate the achievements of leading lights committed to the smart development of today’s society.