Technologies

2023 IDEA Awards: Help us to Spotlight Product Design Excellence

April 27, 2023

For the third year running, we honor the top innovations in industrial design, engineering and automation—as nominated and voted upon by you, our readers.

From Staff

The 2023 Industrial Design, Engineering & Automation (IDEA) Awards highlight the key innovations in product design across the industry. IDEA Award winners and honorees are chosen by the engineering community for the Machine Design, Electronic Design, Power & Motion, Microwaves & RF and Vision Systems Design brands.

Submissions are $575 per entry and must be received by June 30. The judging period begins July 10 and runs through Aug. 7. The honorees will be notified Aug. 16; all winners will be publicly announced Sept. 22.

The 13 categories for the 2023 IDEA Awards have been updated to include emergent technology areas and broaden the range of engineering products and solutions. They include:

Additive Manufacturing: 3D printing machines, materials and software, as well as interfaces to CAD and machine tools for post-processing
Automation & Controls: PLC, SCADA, and networks and software used to manage control systems and data.
Cabling and Enclosures: Hardware meant to hold controls and electronics and monitoring the temperature, pressure, humidity, etc. inside the enclosure.
Communication: Wireless and wired systems, modules and software that facilitate communication between chips, modules and systems.
Computing: Edge computing devices and interfaces, as well as the compute, storage and communication modules and systems used to analyze data and assist design engineers.
Electric Motors, Drives and Components: Electric motors and drives of all sizes and electrical and electronic components.
Sensors and Software: Embedded sensors to measure speed, temperature, vibration, positioning and other operational parameters, as well as the software needed to effectively analyze the sensor data.
Electronic Components: Passive electronic components like capacitors, transistors or diodes, connectors, cables, antennas and switches.
Design and Operations Software: CAD, CAM, Digital Twin, modeling and simulation software as well as application tools and operating systems to assist the design engineer.
Fastening and Joining: All mechanical and machine tool operations, welding, soldering and adhesives focused on metal or component joining as well as materials used to fasten and secure components.
Machine Vision: Hardware and software designed to improve product quality, supply chain management and production throughput.
Motion Control: Pneumatic, hydraulic, and electric systems and guides, including cylinders, ball screws, belts, chains and other actuators, as well as fluids, filters and compressed air systems.
Robotics: Single-axis and multi-axis robots for assembly and supply chain use as well as cobots, AGVs and other robotic transport vehicles