Nearly 10,000 attendees flocked to the IEEE MTT-S 2016 International Microwave Symposium (IMS) that was held in San Francisco from May 22-27. This marks a 32% increase in show attendance from 2013 and goes to validate IMS as an essential event for the wireless industry. Tradeshow News Network (TSNN) recently named IMS one of the 25 Fastest Growing Shows based on attendance. This six-day event, held in San Francisco’s Moscone Center, drew nearly 3,000 attendees to the technical program and featured a record-breaking 625 companies on the sold-out show floor. IMS, the annual conference and exhibition of the IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society (MTT-S), is the premier international meeting for technologists involved in all aspects of microwave theory and practice.
The attendees comprised RF designers, researchers, developers and academics representing more than 60 countries including China (4% of attendees), as well as Japan (3%), Korea (3%), and Germany (3%). Of attendees at this year’s show, 42% were first-time attendees, and IMS 2016 saw an increase in overall attendance of 15% over IMS 2015. Being located in San Francisco possibly had something to do with this as it is one of the largest tech hubs in the world.
Dr. Amarpal Khanna, IMS 2016 general chair said - “IMS is the number one trade-show in the microwave and RF industry and is rapidly becoming known as a must-attend event in the broader technology sector. Microwave and RF technologies are the backbone of emerging innovations that will shape the future of technology-- everything from virtual reality to autonomous driving. It’s inspiring to see the industry’s greatest innovators come together each year to exchange ideas that turn into tomorrow’s ground-breaking technologies.”
The “connectivity crunch” was a hot topic of this year’s show, with standing-room only technical sessions on millimeter waves and other approaches for overcoming bandwidth and spectrum issues. Human-technology interaction was also a major theme; “father of the cell phone” Dr. Martin Cooper set the stage discussing how wireless connectivity has the opportunity to improve the interaction between humans and technology during his plenary session presentation, and University of California, Berkeley Donald O. Pederson Distinguished Professor Jan M. Rabaey spurred discussion on the human and technology interaction as it relates to the future of wearable devices at the closing session.
Technology heavyweights including Facebook, Boeing and Virginia Tech discussed the technological and economic challenges for the future space-based internet during the evening “rump” session. Returning for its second year, the Wireless Wonders Pavilion showcased microwave and RF-based wearable electronics from exhibitors including Automatic Labs, Maja Systems/Rhode & Schwarz, Qualcomm and Zentri. This pavilion also highlighted a cooperative virtual reality experience in which players had to work as a team to complete a virtual mission to Mars. Additionally, special sessions hosted by the Women in Microwaves, which presented a panel on leadership, and the Young Professionals in microwaves, which held a panel on the future of millimeter waves, reinforced the industry’s commitment to diversity and its future leaders.
The show wrapped with a keynote from National Instruments President, CEO, and Co-Founder Dr. James Truchard around the importance of 5G, in which he explained how a software-based approach will enable the explosion of wireless connectivity. The transition to 5G will be a major theme at IMS 2017 - which is all set to tak place in Hawaii.
“5G is the next horizon for wireless connectivity and the catalyst to make the Internet of Things a universal reality, but the transition still presents a number of challenges for the microwave and RF industry to address,” said Dr. Wayne Shiroma, IMS 2017 general chair. “The sharing of knowledge and collaboration that IMS enables are the key to bringing 5G, and technologies beyond it, to life.”
IMS 2017 will be held June 4-9, 2017 at the Hawaii Convention Center in Honolulu. Booth selection for 2017 is currently underway, with 80% of exhibit space already sold. However many of the exhibitors were not too happy about this and expect non-conference attendees to be minimal to none. Hawaii is a great location for a conference, however not so much for an exhibition. Microwave Journal is planning to launch its IMS exhibition competitor this year with EDICON USA making its debut in Boston from 20 to 22 September, 2016. In 2017, when IMS is in Hawaii, some vendors might consider attending this event, as it will be easier to get to and will draw users outside the conference attendees.
