March 31 is deadline for IERA Award applications for robotics entrepreneurs

Applications are due very soon for the  7th    annual  will be presented at the IERA workshop held in Munich on June   in conjunction with the IFR International Symposium on Robotics.

 The purpose of this award is to highlight and honor the achievements of the inventors with value creating ideas
and entrepreneurs who propel those ideas into world-class products.The $2000 prize will be awarded to an individual or team  of indivduals, not to a company.

This is a key element to the continuing success of robotics and automation today. Active infusion of innovation and entrepreneurship into technological advancement is regarded critical at this juncture to strengthen a healthy balance between research and practice as well as a healthy growth of industrial and commercial sectors in robotics and automation.

In a joint event the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society and the International Federation of Robotics will
therefore recognize and honor outstanding achievements of entrepreneurs in the commercialization of
innovative robotic and automation technology.

These achievements will be recognized in a specially organized IEEE/IFR Joint Forum on Innovation and
Entrepreneurship in Robotics and Automation, which is being held in conjunction with the 41st International
Symposium on Robotics and the 6th German Conference on Robotics. The selected finalists will have the
opportunity to present their story of the genesis of a successful innovative product in robotics and automation
from its very inception to the final state of commercialization in a series of plenary lectures. The ultimate
winner will be chosen by an evaluation board, consisting of distinguished individuals  from industry and
academia. A prestigious plaque will be awarded to each finalist and a US$ 2,000 prize will be awarded to the
winner.
Applications should describe the original work that has been translated into a commercial success. The
application must include statements regarding:
• description of the innovation/product/application
• stages of the product genesis
• novelty/uniqueness of the product
• market analysis, economic viability and pathway for commercialization
• sustained competitive advantage
• current and future impact on and relevance to industry
Applications should not exceed a maximum length of 5 pages. Product descriptions and public relations material will not be accepted as an application. Links to online references are allowed.