AMA Association reports on current industry developments

Berlin, November 25, 2024 – According to a survey conducted by the AMA Association for Sensors and Measurement (AMA) among its approximately 450 members, the industry recorded a six percent decline in sales in the second quarter of 2024 compared to the previous quarter. Thus, economic development fell short of expectations of plus two percent. Incoming orders fell by one percent, which also reflects a slight decline compared to the first quarter.

This trend is now also affecting the employment situation: 18 percent of AMA members reported short time working. The survey results also show a stable book-to-bill ratio of 1.0. This is considered an indicator of the medium-term trend in the order situation and is defined as the ratio of incoming orders to sales in the same period.

“The development in the second quarter follows the general trend in the manufacturing industry in Germany,” explains AMA managing director Thomas Simmons. ” The declines in the automotive industry and the difficult situation in energy-intensive sectors have now also affected the sensor and measurement technology industry. Unfortunately, expectations of a recovery in the second quarter were not met.”

In view of the economic downturn, the AMA Association sees the best approaches for a positive development in innovation and diversification. In particular, digitization, automation and the expansion of sustainable technologies continue to offer member companies in the industry potential for future growth.

Berlin, July 09, 2024 – The AMA Association for Sensors and Measurement is pleased to announce the Call for Papers for the international conference Sensor and Measurement Science International (SMSI) 2025. This event will take place from May 6 to 8, 2025, in Nuremberg, Germany, in conjunction with the SENSOR+TEST 2025 trade fair. The deadline for submitting presentations and posters is November 15, 2024.

SMSI 2025 brings together international experts from research, academia, and industry, focusing on two distinct pillars:

Sensors and Instrumentation:

•         Sensor materials and technology       
•         Sensor principles and devices
•         Sensor interface electronics
•         Sensor systems
•         Applications

Measurement Science and Metrology:

•         Measurement foundations        
•         Metrology in the digital age
•         Networked and IoT-related measurement systems
•         Advanced measurement approaches
•         AI approaches in measurement science
•         Applications
•  

Running in parallel with the SENSOR+TEST 2025 trade fair, the SMSI 2025 conference serves as an inspiring information platform for sensor technology, measurement techniques, and actual advancements in the field of metrology, thus promoting an enriched innovation dialogue among conference attendees, exhibitors and visitors of the trade fair.

Researchers, scientists, and industry professionals are invited to submit a brief description of their presentation or poster in English by November 15, 2024. For more information about SMSI 2025, the conference themes, and participation requirements, please visit: SMSI 2025 – Call for Papers.

AMA Association reports positive development for the 1st quarter

Berlin, 03 July 2024 - The AMA Association for Sensors and Measurement conducts a quarterly survey of its 450 members on economic developments. The industry generated sales growth of two per cent in the first quarter compared to the previous quarter. Incoming orders rose by nine per cent at the beginning of the year compared to the previous quarter. Sensor and measurement technology developed positively with these results. This is reflected in the expectations of AMA members, who anticipate a two per cent increase in turnover for the second quarter.

With a two per cent increase in turnover and a nine per cent increase in incoming orders, the book-to-bill ratio for the first quarter is stable at 1. This is an indicator of the medium-term trend in the order situation and is defined as the ratio of incoming orders to turnover in the same period.

In contrast, the ifo Institute reported a deterioration in sentiment in the German economy as a whole, mainly due to companies' more pessimistic expectations for the coming months. While assessments of the current situation remained unchanged, the German economy is still struggling to overcome the current stagnation. In the manufacturing sector in particular, companies were more sceptical about the coming months, especially due to a falling order backlog.
The different developments in the overall economy and the sensor and measurement technology sector underline the importance of specialised sectors as drivers of economic growth and stability.

"The positive results of our survey show that the sensor and measurement technology sector is currently stable and future-orientated," says Thomas Simmons, Managing Director of the AMA Association. "Our members remain optimistic and also expect slight growth in the second quarter. After all, sensors are an indispensable component of technical innovation and digitalisation."

High-tech from Ulm reduces costs, size and weight of complete LiDAR systems

Berlin, 11 June 2024 - On 11 June, the AMA Association for Sensors and Measurement (AMA) presented Stanislav Aksarin and his team of developers with the AMA Innovation Award at the SENSOR+TEST 2024 in Nuremberg. The photonically integrated FMCW single-chip LiDAR from Scantinel Photonics GmbH impressed the jury with its high technological level and clear market relevance. Peter Krause (Chairman of the AMA Association) and Professor Andreas Schütze (Chairman of the jury) presented the winning team, consisting of Stanislav Aksarin, Vladimir Davydenko and Andy Zott, with the prize money of 10,000 euros for their outstanding achievement.  

The development team from Scantinel Photonics GmbH has realised a ground-breaking single-chip FMCW-LiDAR based on a photonically integrated platform. This technology takes autonomous mobility to the next level by solving the challenges of existing LIDAR sensors, utilising CMOS-compatible photonic integration platforms and significantly reducing the cost, size and weight of the final LiDAR system. (Brochure p. 8)

‘On behalf of the entire jury, I would like to congratulate this year's winning team, which demonstrates a very high technological level with its photonically integrated FMCW single-chip LiDAR,’ said Professor Andreas Schütze, jury chairman from Saarland University, explaining this year's decision. ‘With the integration of the optical function compatible with standard CMOS electronics, the cost, size and weight of complete LiDAR systems can be significantly reduced. This opens up new applications and new market potential. These are precisely the criteria that our jury uses as a basis. We assess the novelty, the level of innovation and the originality of the technical solution, as well as the market opportunities and the patent situation. The photonically integrated FMCW single-chip LiDAR brings everything together, a high technological level forms the basis, it is a genuine invention that has very good market opportunities. Congratulations to the whole team!’

Brochure with all submissions 2024
All accepted submissions, as well as the nominated teams and the 2024 special award winners, will be published with a brief description of the innovation in the brochure ‘AMA Innovation Award 2024 - The Applicants’, which can be downloaded online free of charge: https://www.ama-sensorik.de/fileadmin/Innovationspreis/Booklet/Broschuere_2024_fin.pdf

Applications for the Innovation Award 2025
Application forms for the AMA Innovation Award 2025 will be available from the end of October 2024. Individuals or development teams from companies and institutes can apply. Further information can be found at: https://www.ama-sensorik.de/en/science/ama-innovation-award/

AMA Association reports industry development in 2023 and outlook for 2024

In the past year, the sensor and measurement technology sector generated an overall increase in sales of six percent compared to the previous year. In the fourth quarter, AMA members recorded a decline in sales of six percent compared to the previous quarter. Incoming orders fell by three percent in the same period. The industry anticipates slight sales growth of three percent for the current year.

Berlin, March 2024 - In January 2024, the AMA Association for Sensors and Measurement (AMA) surveyed its members on the economic development of the past financial year. AMA members generated a six percent increase in sales compared to the previous year. In the fourth quarter, sales fell by six percent and incoming orders by three percent compared to the previous quarter. However, AMA members are cautiously positive about the 2024 financial year and expect turnover to grow by two percent.

Higher investments planned
AMA members invested one percent more in the past 2023 than in the previous year, but plan to increase investment by thirteen percent in the current year while maintaining the same number of staff. Members are thus focusing on the future viability of the industry, investing in technologies, and underlining the relevance of sensor and measurement technology.

Decline in exports to non-European countries
The export ratio for sensor and measurement technology fell by 17 percentage points to 48% in 2023. It is clear to see that the export ratio to other Central European countries remained stable, while the export ratio outside Europe fell significantly.

Availability of important supplier products
In 2023, the supply bottlenecks for semiconductors and comparable supplier products decreased noticeably for most AMA members. In the January survey, around 20% of members stated that they were still experiencing difficulties with procurement. This suggests that most sensor specialists are now able to cover their requirements again without any problems.

Summarizing statement
"The fourth quarter of 2023 was more difficult than expected for the sensor and measurement technology sector. The decline in sales hit the large members harder than the small and medium-sized companies. This particularly affected the large members that supply the automotive industry," says Thomas Simmons, Managing Director of the AMA Association, summarizing the new statistics. "Our members are cautiously optimistic for the current year 2024 and expect sales growth of two percent. The planned increase in investments of thirteen percent is pleasing, which for me is a clear commitment to the innovative strength and relevance of sensor and measurement technology for the industry."

The AMA Association for Sensors and Measurement nominates three applications for the AMA Innovation Award 2024. Two outstanding development teams receive the special 'Young Company' award.

Berlin, March 2024 - This year, 25 research and development teams from Germany and abroad competed for the prestigious AMA Innovation Award. The winners receive prize money of 10,000 euros. The jury is made up of representatives from research and industry. In their assessment, the jurors place particular emphasis on the level of innovation, the originality of the solutions and the market relevance of the research and development work submitted.

Nominations AMA Innovation Award 2024 in alphabetical order:

First true 3D magnetic field camera for rapid inspection
Development team: Prof. Radivoje Popovic, Sasa Spasic, Sasa Dimitrijevic, Dr. Alexander Stuck, Aleksandar Dimitrijevic, Maciej Urban, Matija Mijalkovic, Dejan Stankovic (Senis AG, Baar)

Description: The SEN-3D-CAM is a 3D magnetic field camera that integrates a compact magnetic imaging chip in a small head. It simultaneously measures all three magnetic field components (Bx, By, Bz) using Senis proprietary 3D Hall technology. With 16,000 pixels, the camera quickly captures a complete magnetic image and is ideal for inline and offline inspection with unprecedented precision.

Highest measurement performance in miniature format: 180 GHz radar measurement technology
Development team: Dr. Philipp Hügler, Dr. Markus Schartel, Sylwester Szymanski, Dr. Winfried Mayer, Dr. Dominic Maurath, Philipp Seifert, Markus Vogel, Ghislain Daufeld, Dr. Alexey Malinovskiy (Endress+Hauser SE+Co. KG, Maulburg)

Description: The innovation is a compact radar device for level measurement that has been specially developed for applications in the food & beverages and life sciences industries. The new 180 GHz technology enables the smallest antennas with high performance, which enables level measurement in small containers.

Photonically integrated FMCW single-chip LiDAR
Development team: Stanislav Aksarin, Vladimir Davydenko, Andy Zott (Scantinel Photonics GmbH, Ulm)

Description: Scantinel is developing a breakthrough single-chip FMCW LiDAR based on a photonic integrated platform. This technology takes autonomous mobility to the next level by solving the challenges of existing LIDAR sensors, utilizing CMOS-compatible photonic integration platforms and significantly reducing the cost, size and weight of the final LiDAR system.
Special prizes for two young companies

The special category 'Young Companies' was open to companies that have been on the market for less than five years, have fewer than 50 employees and generate an annual turnover of less than 10 million euros. The winners of the special prize will receive a free trade fair stand at the SENSOR+TEST 2024. This year, two development teams from a total of 10 applications submitted in this category convinced the jury.

FlexSense - Electroactive polymer (EAP) strain and pressure sensors
Development team: Andreas Meyer, Julian Neu, Dr. Alexander York (mateligent iDEAS GmbH) Saarbrücken), Prof. Paul Motzki (ZeMA gGmbH / Saarland University), Prof. Stefan Seelecke (Saarland University)

Description: Soft, thin, adaptable sensor elements that can provide accurate measurements over millions of cycles at material strains of up to 100 %.

Micro-Electro-Chemical Sensor Technology (MECS Technology™)
Development team: Ryan Guterman, Alexey Yakushenko (Faradaic Sensors GmbH, Berlin)

Description: The first electrochemical gas sensors on a MEMS-like chip that measure gases such as O2, CO2, H2 and many others.

 "We would like to thank all applicants for the many high-quality submissions. The two start-ups stood out from the rest of the field of applicants in this special category. We invite both teams to present their developments at a free exhibition stand at the SENSOR+TEST 2024," says Professor Andreas Schütze, jury chairman from Saarland University. "The three nominated teams for the AMA Innovation Award 2024 represent the variety of developments and solutions in which innovative sensor and measuring technology is trend-setting for technical progress. We can't wait to see who will win the race this year."
 
The winners of the AMA Innovation Award 2024 will be announced on June 11, 2024 at the opening event of the SENSOR+TEST 2024 trade fair in Nuremberg.

The overview of all applications for the AMA Innovation Award 2024 can be found at https://www.ama-sensorik.de/fileadmin/Innovationspreis/Booklet/Broschuere_2024.pdf