Calendar of events: Experiencing technology

22 June 2018

Fans of computer games will be flocking to Gamescon in Cologne in August, lovers of innovative and wacky gadgets to the IFA in Berlin. We present these and other exciting dates for technology lovers from July to September 2018 in our #explore events calendar.

20 to 22 July 2018, Schülerforschungszentrum/Wissenswerkstatt
For more information about “Hack To The Future”, click here.

Calling all young coders: at Hack To The Future in Friedrichshafen, amateur programmers between 12 and 18 will be able to spend a whole weekend developing their own apps, games and websites. Experienced professionals will be on hand to help out with the coding. Hack To The Future is part of the Kindermedienland Baden-Württemberg initiative. At previous hackathons in Stuttgart and Mannheim, next-generation coders have developed such things as a smart worktop for the kitchen, a quiz app for individual vocabulary learning and a cat finder that uses voice control to pin down the current location of your feline friend.

22 to 25 August 2018, Koelnmesse
For more information about “Gamescom”, click here.

Summer games: Every year in August, the “Heart of Gaming” beats in Cologne for hundreds of thousands of computer game fans. At Gamescom 2017, 355,000 gamers from over 100 countries tested the latest games, software and brand-new accessories on offer from 919 exhibitors - setting a visitor record for the world's largest consumer exhibition for the industry. Even German Chancellor Merkel came on a flying visit and emphasized the cultural and economic importance of the computer game. This will once again be discussed in 2018 at the accompanying Gamescom Congress, which some 850 representatives from politics, culture, science, and, of course, the games industry are expected to attend. Anyone contemplating a future as a game developer can go to the Gamescom Campus to find out about career opportunities in the industry.

31 August - 5 September 2018, Messe Berlin
For more information about the “IFA”, click here.

3K, 4K, 8K: If you want to know where technology for your home, wrist and trouser pocket is headed, the IFA is a must-attend event. This year, the world’s most important trade fair for home electronics will be all about smart and networked devices for the home, Artificial Intelligence, and, of course, TVs with even better image quality. After all, it was here that chancellor Willy Brandt first introduced colour to German TV screens at the touch of a symbolic button in 1967. How new technologies are changing our mobility and everyday life will be the subject of discussions on 4 and 5 September at the shift AUTOMOTIVE conference, which will be celebrating its launch in the context of the IFA. In the Young IFA House, young and young-at-heart visitors will be able to test their reflexes in laser games and experience notable YouTubers, bloggers and influencers live on stage or in the shared house. Anyone who enjoys dressing up as their favourite character from comic books or video games can even attend the great Manga day in the exhibition halls under the radio tower free of charge on 3 September.

11 to 15 September 2018, Messe Frankfurt
For more information about the “Automechanika” trade fair, click here

After the IAA Cars means before Automechanika. This golden rule has applied for specialist visitors from vehicle workshops, trade and industry for 25 years now. Alternating with IAA Cars, Automechanika has taken place every two years at the Frankfurt Exhibition Centre since its inception in 1971. In 2016 133,000 specialist visitors from 170 countries visited the world's leading trade fair for the automotive equipment, component, accessory and service industries. And in this anniversary year, the 5,000 exhibitor mark is to be exceeded for the first time. There is much to discover, including the latest repair technologies for vehicle workshops – from repair by robot through 3D printing up to augmented reality. With its “SofortGutachten” rapid report service, TÜV NORD will show how damage reports can be created in record time in future thanks to digital technologies. This means that repairs can start earlier and the vehicle is ready for use again even sooner.

20 to 27 September 2018, Hannover Messe
For more information about the “IAA for Commercial Vehicles”, click here.

Trucks, buses, tractors: Fans of heavy transport vehicles get their money’s worth at the IAA for Commercial Vehicles, as do thousands of international visitors from the logistics industry. Under the slogan "Driving Tomorrow”, some 2000 exhibitors – among them TÜV NORD – at the world's most important trade fair for the industry will be showing how they intend to start shaping the transportation of tomorrow today. In “New Mobility World”, the focus will, as the name suggests, be on the issue of how transport and logistics can be “more efficient, greener and smarter”, as the trade fair’s website has it. Visitors can experience new vehicles in the demo area and on the open-air site. They will also be able to get a sense of how manufacturers are seeking to make logistics fit for the future with the aid of delivery robots, networked or automated HGVs and other innovative solutions.

21 to 22 September 2018, Reeperbahn
For more information about the “Next Conference”, click here.

“Digital Fix – Fix Digital”: “We need to fix digital before it fixes us” - such is the slogan of this year’s Next Conference. This meeting of the digital scene in Hamburg is concerned, on the one hand, with the question of how much control we want to surrender to technologies and the companies that develop them. On the other, the topics to be debated will include what good uses of Artificial Intelligence might look like and how companies can win back the trust of the customers whose data they collect. Some 1500 visitors will have an opportunity to discuss options for “technology with a more human face” in workshops and master classes. The speakers include author Andrew Keen, who takes on the digital revolution in his book “How to Fix the Future”, and Pamela Pavliscak, whose subject area is the future of the feelings.