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Daniel Guy Halmer
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The 22nd edition of COMS (Commercialisation of Emerging Technologies) will take place at the Suisse Majestic Grand Hotel, located along the shore of beautiful Lake Geneva in the picturesque Swiss city of Montreux, on September 24–26, 2018.
Conference structure and highlights
The conference begins with a reception on Monday, September 24, in the evening.
Technical sessions will be held on Tuesday, September 25, and Wednesday, September 26. The programme combines keynotes as well as plenary and parallel oral sessions, featuring invited presentations by internationally recognised experts. Panel discussions with high-quality guests and moderators are also included in the programme.
In addition, there will be a technical exhibition where exhibitors can display commercial tools, materials and software of direct interest to the COMS community. A workshop for start-up companies on Monday, September 24, is also planned.
Conference scope—technical topics
Smart factories provide intelligent manufacturing and are a new trend towards flexible and customer centric production. The goal is to produce personalised products at the costs and with the reliability of high-volume production.
COMS 2018 will cover the following main topics:
- customised manufacturing;
- sensor networks and data analytics;
- collaborative robots (cobots)/the future of robotics; and
- commercialisation of emerging technologies.
The final programme and details of specific sessions will be announced at a later date. The format of the sessions will include invited high-level international speakers and panel discussions with high quality moderators, and international benchmarking with best practices in Switzerland, Germany, Japan and the US.
Conference background
The COMS conference is the annual flagship event of MANCEF (the Micro, Nano and Emerging Technologies Commercialisation Education Foundation). It moves to different countries each year and is tuned to the commercialisation ecosystem of the host city/country. Switzerland, being a worldwide hub of micro and nanotechnology expertise, is a perfect location for the 2018 edition.
COMS focuses primarily on entrepreneurship and marketable solutions, not just science and technology. It is a practical meeting to assist participants in bringing their products to market, finding new customers and meeting appropriate development partners. COMS conferences provide the latest information on manufacturing processes, technology transfer, facilities, infrastructure, investment, applications and markets, as well as cover regulatory issues, social implications, education and workforce development.
Organisers
COMS 2018 is being co-organised by MANCEF, ASME (the American Society of Mechanical Engineers) and FSRM (the Swiss Foundation for Research in Microtechnology).
The conference chair is Prof. Dr. Volker Saile, chief science officer of KIT (the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology) and president of MANCEF; the conference co-chair is Philippe Fischer, microtechnology engineer and director, FSRM; the programme chair is Todd Christenson, chief technology officer and president of HT Micro; and the conference coordinator and exhibition manager is Edward Byrne, geomatics engineer and project manager, FSRM.
Local organising committee members are: Volker Saile, Philippe Fischer, Edward Byrne, David Tolfree, vice president of MANCEF, and Sikha Ray, manager of KIT.
Venue
The Suisse Majestic Grand Hotel is across the street from the main train station, overlooking Lake Geneva and the Savoy Alps and affording one of the most breathtaking vistas in Switzerland. Built in 1870, during the Belle Epoch, the hotel was completely renovated in 2010 and will provide an excellent and comfortable environment for COMS participants.
COMS 2018