The German daily Handelsblatt and business consultants McKinsey&Company are inviting applications for the third “The Spark” German digital prize . This year startups that have developed and successfully tested innovative concepts in robotics can apply. New companies in the German-speaking world that employ a maximum of 500 employees are eligible to take part. The application deadline is June 22, 2018 and the winners will be named on November 8, 2018.

The topic was selected because robotics in industrial production is set to bring significant changes, including through the use of cobots. The rapid growth of these technologies in worldwide production is also confirmed by the International Federation of Robotics IFR , which for its part will be awarding the IERA Award 2018 for robotics and automation at the International Symposium on Robotics (ISR) in Munich in June 2018. According to its statistics , the average robot density in manufacturing industry increased from 2015 to 2016 alone from 66 units to 74 units per 10,000 employees worldwide.