Hannover, Germany. Effective immediately, companies and institutions are invited to compete for the HERMES AWARD 2017 - one of the world's leading distinctions for industrial achievement. The award goes to products which represent a technological innovation and which are scheduled for unveiling at HANNOVER MESSE 2017. The competing products must have already undergone industrial trials and/or enjoy industrial application, and must also be highly innovative in terms of their concrete technical and economic features. The submission deadline is 22 February 2017.

The HERMES AWARD is staged annually by Deutsche Messe during the run-up to HANNOVER MESSE. It comes with a PR package worth around 100,000 euros. "The HERMES AWARD not only generates maximum impact for the winner, but for the companies who were nominated as well: Anyone who passes the nominating procedure is considered one of the most innovative firms at HANNOVER MESSE", declared Dr. Jochen Köckler, member of the Deutsche Messe Managing Board.

The winner of the HERMES AWARD will be selected by an independent jury headed by Dr. Wolfgang Wahlster, Managing Director of the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI). The companies nominated for the award will be profiled at the HANNOVER MESSE 2017 Opening Ceremony on 23 April.

All products which were nominated for the HERMES AWARD 2017 will be showcased from 24 to 28 April at a special display within the Research & Technology show (Hall 2) at HANNOVER MESSE.

At HANNOVER MESSE 2016, the HERMES AWARD winner was the Harting Company, which captured the prize for its MICA product - an open and modular platform consisting of embedded hardware and software which serves as a central component in the Industry 4.0 environment. Thanks to its innovative combination of established Linux technologies, MICA allows users to virtualize field devices. It also makes it possible to add intelligence to existing machines and equipment.