Interested enterprises and start-ups can enter the competition from 31 March to 2 May 2014 at www.robotics-masters.com.

Oberpfaffenhofen, 26 March 2014: For the very first time, the Service Robotics Masters competition and its distinguished ESA BIC Start-up Award will award prizes to outstanding product innovations in service robotics at AUTOMATICA 2014. The competition is being organised by Anwendungszentrum GmbH Oberpfaffenhofen (AZO) with the support of Messe München GmbH, the European Space Agency's Business Incubation Centre (BIC) programme, and the German Aerospace Center's (DLR) Robotics and Mechatronics Center (RMC). Along with cash prizes and a trade show exhibit, the winners will have the chance to position themselves as drivers of innovation at an awards ceremony scheduled to be held at the AUTOMATICA Forum on 4 June 2014 in Munich, Germany. Interested enterprises and start-ups can enter the competition from 31 March to 2 May 2014 at www.robotics-masters.com.

The field of service robotics is revolutionising the market in terms of both business-to-business and business-to-consumer activities. Its innovations can be applied to everything from the automotive and logistics sectors to medical technology. According to estimates, the global service robotics market is expected to grow to USD 46.28 billion by 2017 (MarketResearch.com).

The Service Robotics Masters competition seeks to drive product innovations in this growth market by eliciting and rewarding commercial products. It is designed to reach companies all around the world and start-ups in the European Union that have existed in their current legal form for no more than three years. Prizes are to be awarded to innovative products in relevant segments of the service robotics market, including aerospace, agriculture, automotive, entertainment, healthcare and medicine, home, infrastructure, production, security, and sport. Ideas that make use of technology trends like connected robots, cloud robotics, augmented reality robotics, micro- and nano-robots, wearable robotics, or swarm robotics will be of particular interest to the jury.

The prizes will be presented in two categories:

*The winner of the Service Robotics Master, powered by AUTOMATICA (Messe München GmbH), will receive EUR 5,000 in cash and a media package.

*The ESA BIC Start-up Award, powered by AZO, will include EUR 5,000 in cash, paid travel expenses to the awards ceremony, and a media package. The winner will also have the chance to enter the support programme at the ESA Business Incubation Centre (BIC) of their choice.

The winners and second and third runners-up in each category will be recognised at an awards ceremony to be held at the AUTOMATICA forum on 4 June 2014. They will also be invited to join the Service Robotics Masters exhibit at AUTOMATICA 2014, which will grant them access to the unique network surrounding the trade fair and the opportunity to make valuable new business contacts.

ESA BIC Robotics Initiative

The ESA BIC Robotics Initiative is being launched in parallel with the Service Robotics Masters aiming to aid innovative robotics start-ups in building their companies and developing and marketing their products. "We're looking for start-ups with prototypes and business models involving all types of innovative ideas for robotics," states Frank Salzgeber, head of the ESA's Technology Transfer Programme Office (TTPO). Directed by Anwendungszentrum GmbH Oberpfaffenhofen (AZO) in cooperation with all of the ESA Business Incubation Centres and the DLR Robotics and Mechatronics Center (RMC), the ESA BIC Robotics Initiative is launching the first global start-up programme dedicated to service robotics. These incubation centres provide up to two years of extensive business and technical support designed to help select entrepreneurs found companies in downstream markets for space technologies.

Save the date: 4 June 2014 - Service Robotics Masters awards ceremony, AUTOMATICA trade fair (Messe München)

To find out more about Service Robotics Masters and register for the competition (from 31 March to 2 May 2014), please visit: www.robotics-masters.com

If you have any questions, please contact: Lena.Klemm@anwendungszentrum.de