AMA Innovationaward 2020: The Winner
fluidFOX, the clever online fluid analyzer, and FAMAS, the FAst Magnetic Angle Sensor
The AMA Association for Sensors and Measurement (AMA) bestowed the winners of the AMA Innovation Award 2020 on 23 June 2020. Due to the current situation, the award was endowed virtually instead of physically at the SENSOR+TEST trade fair. The jury chairman Andreas Schütze along with all teams presented the individual projects using multimedia tools at https://www.sensor-test.de/direkt/youtube
In the year of its 20th anniversary, the 10,000 euro AMA Innovation Award went equally to two developer teams. Both developments showed a particularly great degree of innovation and a convincing market relevance.
FAMAS – FAst Magnetic Angle Sensor
The FAMAS is the first inexpensive, fast, and accurate magnetic angle sensor. It is based on two vertical Hall elements and the direct conversion of the angle into a digital format. Implemented in the sensor is a novel, patented algorithm containing an innovative servo-control system. It enables an angular detection for practically all rotary speeds with minimal and angle-independent latency. (brochure, page 8)
The jury extends its congratulations to the Swiss developer team: Prof. Dr. Radivoje S. Popovic, Sasa Spasic, Marjan Blagojevic, Sasa Dimitrijevic, Dr. Dragana Popovic Renella, and Dr. Thomas Kaltenbacher (SENIS AG, Zug/Switzerland).
fluidFOX – the clever online fluid analyzer
The second awarded innovation is the fluidFOX from MicroResonant, has already won the AMA Association’s Young Enterprises special award. It is a compact system for monitoring the quality of lubricants and hydraulic oils. Independent of the type of lubricant, the system not only determines the viscosity, but establishes a comprehensive profile including a number of parameters depending on temperature and pressure. The analyzer thus contributes to the reduction of maintenance costs and risks of machine outages. The fluidFOX system attains a measuring accuracy fully automatically, which exceeding complex lab analyses. (brochure, page 8)
The jury congratulates the Austrian developer team: Alexander O. Niedermayer, Friedrich Feichtinger, and Thomas Voglhuber-Brunnmaier (Micro Resonant, Linz/Austria).
Innovations in Sensor and Measuring Technology as an Overall Winner
This year, 38 innovative research and development teams with first-rate developments contended for the AMA Innovation Award. Among these were 16 young enterprises that showed just how innovative and future-oriented sensor and measuring technology for tomorrow’s solutions can be.
“The two winning projects, FAMAS and fluidFOX, convinced the jury with outstanding scientific solutions, a high degree of innovation, and clear market relevance,” said jury chairman Professor Andreas Schütze from the Saarland University, commenting on this year’s selection.
“FAMAS – the FAst Magnetic Angle Sensor is a particularly elegant control solution for the problem inherent in high-speed Hall sensors applying a new approach. And the fluidFOX swayed us with its extremely good measuring quality in the field by its use of temperature and pressure dependencies of the measuring parameters,” explained Schütze this year’s jury decision.
The winning teams have been invited to present their projects at the SENSOR+TEST 2021 at the award ceremony for the AMA Innovation Award 2021.
Brochure with all Submissions for 2020
The AMA Innovation Award is one of the most renown prizes in the area of sensors and measurement. It is presented annually by the AMA Association. All accepted submissions are published with a brief description in the AMA Innovation Award 2020 – the Contenders brochure.
Submissions for the Innovation Award 2021
Application forms for the AMA Innovation Award 2021 will be available online as of the end of November 2020. Individuals or developer teams from enterprises and institutes may apply. Further information at: www.ama-sensorik.de.
Jury Nominates Five Teams
This year 38 research and development teams from Germany and abroad contended for the renowned AMA Innovation Award. The winners are bestowed with a 10,000-euro prize, which can be divided among the contenders by the jury.
Among the 38 submissions, a total of 16 enterprises contended for the special “Young Enterprises” award. These must be on the market for no more than five years, have less than 50 employees, and an annual turnover of less than ten million euros. This year the team from Micro Resonant from Linz/Austria convinced the jury with its “fluidFOX – the clever online fluid analyzer,” a compact system for monitoring the quality of lubricants and hydraulic oils. The team will receive a free presence at the SENSOR+TEST 2021 in Nuremberg, while keeping its nomination for the AMA Innovation Award 2020.
Nominated for the AMA Innovation Award 2020 (in alphabetical sequence) are:
FAMAS - FAst Magnetic Angle Sensor
Prof. Dr. Radivoje S Popovic, Sasa Spasic, Marjan Blagojevic, Sasa Dimitrijevic, Dr. Dragana Popovic Renella, Dr. Thomas Kaltenbacher (SENIS AG, Zug/Switzerland)
FAMAS is the first inexpensive, fast, and accurate magnetic angle sensor. It is based on two vertical Hall elements and the direct conversion of the angle into a digital format. Implemented in the sensor is a novel, patented algorithm containing an innovative servo-control system. It enables an angular detection for practically all rotary speeds with minimal and angle-independent latency. (brochure, page 8)
fluidFOX – the clever online fluid analyzer
Alexander O. Niedermayer, Friedrich Feichtinger, and Thomas Voglhuber-Brunnmaier (Micro Resonant, Linz/Austria)
The fluidFOX from MicroResonant is a compact system for monitoring the quality of lubricants and hydraulic oils. It contributes to the reduction of maintenance costs and risks of machine outages. Independent of the type of lubricant, the system not only determines the viscosity, but establishes a comprehensive profile including a number of parameters depending on temperature and pressure. The fluidFOX system attains a measuring accuracy fully automatically, which exceeding complex lab analyses. (brochure, page 8)
Photo-acoustic CO₂ sensor for series application
Marco Gysel, Dr. Thomas Uehlinger, Dr. Johannes Bühler, Dr. Michel Stromereder (Sensirion AG, Stäfa/Switzerland)
The SCD40 represents the first CO₂ and RH/T sensor in miniature format with a space requirement of only one cubic centimeter. This disruptive innovation is based on the principle of photo-acoustic sensor technology and combines minimum size with maximum performance. Thanks to its exemplary price-performance ratio, the SCD40 is especially suited for series use and cost-sensitive areas of application. (brochure, page 9)
Thorax monitor
Dr. Jens Langejürgen, Jan Ringkamp, Philipp Radler, Dr. Philipp Lebhardt (Fraunhofer IPA, Mannheim/Germany)
Respiratory parameters, such as breathing rate and depth, but also the start of inspiration and expiration are among the most important vital parameters in clinical monitoring. The real-time detection of these parameters is crucial for respirators especially for very small lungs. The thorax monitor measures changes in the permittivity in the thorax contactless and determines the respiratory parameters. (brochure, page 9)
Ultrasound-flowmeter device with a gas analysis function for process gasses
Dr. Michal Bezděk, Pierre Ueberschlag, Frank Wandeler, Dr. Oliver Berberig (Endress+Hauser Flow, Weil a.R./Germany)
The industrially optimized ultrasound flowmeter Prosonic Flow G 300/500 measures with extremely high accuracy dry and moist gasses in volatile process conditions. A unique sensor concept enables maintenance-free long-term operation even for difficult applications with a high share of liquid in the gas. Also, the integrated gas analysis function provides process parameter for monitoring gas characteristics and quality in real-time. (brochure,
page 10)
“The AMA Association bestows the AMA Innovation Award for twenty years now and had the opportunity again this year to evaluate numerous high-quality submissions,” says Professor Andreas Schütze, chairman of the jury, from the Saarland University. The five nominated teams again show just how innovative solutions and developments in sensor and measuring technology can be. Especially conspicuous is the high density of innovations from Austria and Switzerland among this year’s nominations.”
The winners of the AMA Innovation Award 2020 will be announced on the 22nd of June, 2020. See an overview of all submissions for the AMA Innovation Award 2020
AMA Innovation Award 2020 apply til 29.1.2020
The AMA Association for Sensor and Measurement Technology (AMA) calls on researchers and developers to submit innovative projects and product ideas from the field of sensor and measurement technology by 29 January 2020.
Applications can be submitted by individuals and development teams from companies and research institutions with innovative research and development solutions that demonstrate recognizable market relevance. The renowned AMA Innovation Award is endowed with prize money of 10,000 euros. In addition, companies can apply for the special "Young Company" award if they have been on the market for no more than five years, employ fewer than 50 people and generate annual sales of less than 10 million euros. The winner in this special category will receive a free stand at the SENSOR+TEST 2020 in Nuremberg.
Conditions and submission forms for the AMA Innovation Award 2020
