20 January & February 2021 http://www.elektormagazine.comVIRTUAL
ELECTRONICA
FAST FORWARD
2020
By Clemens Valens (Elektor)electronica Fast Forward, the start-up
competition powered by Elektor, went
virtual in 2020. From January through
October 2020, young electronics-focused
companies from around the world
presented their elevator pitches, business
plans, and products. We congratulate all
the talented participants. Here are the
winners.Over the past few years, Elektor has organized the Fast Forward
start-up competition, which has coincided with the electronica and
productronica trade shows. But in 2020, things were a bit differ-
ent, and you all know why. Instead of cancelling the event, Elektor
and electronica (https://electronica.de/) moved electronica fast
forward (e-ffwd) online, where companies from countries such as
Germany, the United States, Hungary, and France (to name only a
few) presented their elevator pitches, business plans, and products.Even though the e-ffwd competition was open to any start-up
company, not all were admitted to the final round. Only the parti-
cipants who submitted a business plan, a company profile, and
a short video were presented to the jury. The videos replaced the
elevator pitches that participants would normally deliver live in
Coronavirus-free times in front of an audience and a jury. The
live audience was simulated by public voting as visitors of the
start-up profiles could rate them by giving stars.electronica Fast Forward Winners
After reviewing the various start-ups and their technologies, the
official e-ffwd jury — headed by Professor Rik De Doncker (RWTH
Aachen University, see inset) together with Elektor engineering
and editorial representatives — selected the top three winners
based on their high commercial potential and the quality of the
team, two important criteria for a start-up to grow into a success-
ful business. Congratulations to AXS Motionsystem [1], Micro-
pack3D [2], and e-Fásli [3]!First Prize: AXS Motionsystem Ltd (Hungary)
Founded in 2014, AXS Motionsystem Ltd develops an ergonomic
expert system to evaluate and qualify workplaces. AXS System
digitally captures the motion and hand-forces of a worker during
the workflow. Based on the recorded data, the evaluation is done
almost completely automatically according to different ergonomics
methods. For its achievement, AXS Motionsystem won a €75,
Elektor marketing budget and a starter booth at electronica 2022.Second Prize: Micropack-3D (Germany)
Micropack-3D is a recently founded start-up that develops adaptive
electronic packaging — that is, the housing and connecting of
integrated circuits (ICs). Its aim is to enable new generations of
highly adapted and specialized electronics and shorten precious
development time. The company won a €50,000 Elektor market-
ing budget for Second Prize.Third Prize: e-Fásli Ltd (Hungary)
e-Fásli is the first self-learning heat therapy device. It can be
attached to the body and can maintain a level of temperature
between 25°C and 45°C for hours. Patient and disease data are
gathered by a mobile app and then anonymous data is sent to