SiME Congress 2026: Focusing on Sensor-Integrated Machine Elements
The SiME Congress took place on 15-16 September 2026. Participants from academia and industry gathered in Darmstadt to discuss current developments, research findings, and practical applications related to sensor-integrated machine elements.
Four keynote presentations provided insights into key issues and developments:
- Hesse Sensor Technology Cluster - Join Us in Shaping the Ecosystem! (Prof. Dr. Klaus-Michael Ahrend | HEAG Holding AG)
- AIQ-Sensor Systems Inside Gearboxes: From Local Diagnosis to Cloud-Based Drivetrain Transparency (Dennis Meyering | Flender GmbH)
- The DFG Priority Program SPP 2305 - "Sensor-integrating Machine Elements" (Prof. Dr. Eckhard Kirchner | TU Darmstadt, pmd & Prof. Dr. Karsten Stahl | TU Munich, FZG)
- Knowledge Transfer and DFG Funding (Dr. Wieland Biedermann | Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft e.V.)
The program also featured 24 technical presentations and case studies. Numerous opportunities for personal interaction fostered discussions with industry colleagues. Attendees included leading universities and research institutions, as well as industry partners such as Airbus Helicopters Technik GmbH, R+W Antriebselemente GmbH, HCP Sense GmbH, and many more.
Special thanks go to the speakers for their expert presentations, as well as to our partners TU Munich, TU Darmstadt, and DFG, and our sponsors HBK and Nabtesco. We also extend our sincere thanks to our exhibitors for their support. Finally, we would like to thank all participants for their active engagement and two successful days in Darmstadt.
Once again, the SiME Congress demonstrated that the exchange between research and industry is critical for the continued development of sensor-integrated machine elements.
We look forward to continuing this dialogue and welcoming many new and familiar faces at the next SiME Congress.
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Eckhard Kirchner
Fachgebietsleiter
Technische Universität Darmstadt
Institut für Produktentwicklung und Maschinenelemente (pmd)
"The SiME Congress aims to bridge the gap between basic research and industry's need for innovative solutions for the digitalization of technical processes. The participating scientists are investigating solutions that will enable them to use sensor-integrated machine elements - SiME - to measure where industrial value creation takes place. SiME thus solve a key problem of digitalization."
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Karsten Stahl
Ordinarius
Technische Universität München
Forschungsstelle für Zahnräder und Getriebesysteme (FZG)
"The availability of reliable data plays a key role in the continuous optimization of efficiency, power density, operating behavior, and manufacturing costs of machines and machine systems. Since there are various "common" machine elements in close proximity to the process in every machine, it is evident that these should be equipped with sensor systems to enable them to perform various measurement tasks continuously. This challenge is at the core of the DFG Priority Program 2305 "Sensor-integrating machine elements" which has been the subject of intensive research for several years. At the SiME Congress, we want to provide insights into these research activities on integrating sensor systems in machine elements, present current results from the research projects and discuss them in the context of a potential industrial application."