You Get to Choose Which Products Might Receive an Edge Award

What you’ll learn:

What are the Edge Awards?
Why should you submit a product for consideration.
What publications and product areas are part of the Edge Awards?

Submissions are now being accepted for the Edge Awards.

What are the Edge Awards? Formerly known as the IDEA Awards, the Edge Awards celebrate the innovative products, technologies, systems, and services to enhance engineering design for a more effective solution development and integration. We divide entries into one of 14 categories.

Why Enter?

Entering your new product(s) in the Edge Award competition will provide exposure for your products and your company. Accepted entries will receive online coverage of their product to be distributed through our various channels, including magazines, newsletters, websites, and social media.

Who Can Vote

Voting will be open ONLY to all eligible and qualified readers of Machine Design, Electronic Design, Power & Motion, Microwaves & RF, Laser Focus World, Military + Aerospace Electronics, and Vision Systems Design who work in the engineering community. Ineligible votes from non-qualified participants will not be considered.

Eligibility Terms

There is no limit to the number of product entries. You can submit as many new products as you like.

What Constitutes a “New Product”?

All products must have been introduced for the first time within a 12-month period beginning May 27, 2023, and ending May 27, 2024. Significant upgrades to existing products may be submitted, but they will be accepted at the discretion of the editorial staff. Entrants may submit products in a specific category, though that category may be changed at the discretion of the editorial staff.

Deadlines and Pricing

Early Bird Deadline: May 27, 2024
Early Bird Price: $525

Final Entry Deadline: June 21, 2024
Regular Submission Price: $625

Winners and Honorees, and the Leading Edge Award Winner

There will be a winner and two honorees highlighted for each category (categories subject to change at the editors' discretion contingent on the scope of products received). Winners will receive a physical award commemorating their product’s win to showcase at your office and at your booth at key industry events. The single product that receives the highest number of votes across all categories will receive the Leading Edge Award.

Submitting Edge Award Products

Start by setting up an Edge Award account. You can then add your product(s) to the list.

2024 Edge Award Categories

Products entered in the Edge Awards need to fall under one of the following categories:

Additive Manufacturing and Rapid Prototyping

3D printing machines, materials, and software, as well as interfaces to CAD and machine tools for post-processing

Automation and Controls

PLC, SCADA, and networks and software used to manage control systems and data.

Cabling and Enclosures

Hardware meant to hold controls and electronics as well as monitor 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 Hardware, Software and Systems

Edge-computing devices and interfaces, as well as the compute, storage, and communication modules and systems used to analyze data and assist design engineers.

Electronic Components

Passive electronic components like capacitors, transistors or diodes, connectors, cables, antennas, and switches.

Machine Learning/Deep Learning

Hardware and software that incorporates or is designed to improve product quality, supply-chain management, and production throughput.

Machine Vision & Inspection

Cameras, sensors, lenses, filters, lighting, frame grabbers, software, and systems

Motion Control Components

Pneumatic, hydraulic, and electric motion control components and systems including actuators, cylinders, ball screws, motors and drives, and accessories such as fasteners, bearings, belts, and chains, as well as fluids, filters, and compressed air systems.

Optical Components and Systems

This includes adaptive optics, optical materials (such as metamaterials), optical coatings, precision optics, micro-optics, lenses, mirrors, aspheres, prisms, and freeform optics. This category also includes lighting products for machine vision applications.

Production Tools and Systems

This includes creation of chips, printed circuit boards, components, and systems, as well as all mechanical and machine tool operations, welding, soldering, and adhesives focused on metal or component joining, plus materials used to fasten and secure components.

Robotics

Single-axis and multi-axis robots for assembly, product inspection, and supply chain use as well as cobots, AGVs, and other robotic transport vehicles. This also includes software related to robotics, including fleet management and robot operating systems.

Test, Measurement, Sensors, and Software

Test and measurement equipment and sensors that measure things including electrical, photons, speed, temperature, vibration, positioning, dimensional accuracy, defect detection and other operational parameters, as well as the software needed to effectively analyze the sensor data.

Tools, Design, and Operations Software

EDA, CAD, CAM, CAE, Digital Twin, modeling and simulation software as well as application tools and operating systems to assist the design engineer. This category also includes IDEs, compilers, and middleware.