On Friday, April 8, the sixteenth edition of the International Fair A&T Automation & Testing, hosted by Lingotto Fiere in Turin, ended. A&T is developed in exhibition part and training and updating activities for startups and SMEs engaged in innovating their business models in the field of Industry 4.0. The six integrated focuses on which the event was centered were Testing&Metrology, Smart Manufacturing, Smart Logistics, Additive Manufacturing, Production Control and Process Control.
The last physical edition had been held in 2020, but even during the pandemic "A&T maintained contact with the industrial and research world to spread innovation culture and create moments of encounter between suppliers and users of technologies and skills". In fact, in 2021 the fair was held online, in February with the Digital Fair and in June with the A&T Specialty Events, while this year it was time for a return to presence that totaled:
- 16,000 visitors
- 400 exhibitors from all over Italy
- more than 4,000 technologies presented and tested by the public
- 3 main events
- 8 conferences
- 14 round tables
- 42 specialized workshops
- more than 70 accredited media and journalists
During the closing ceremony of this edition, the Innovation 4.0 Award was given to Jolanda Luongo of the University of Verona, for her research project in the healthcare field: a mobile CT unit with which it is possible to perform diagnostic examinations even in conditions and places that are not easily accessible, such as areas at war or affected by natural disasters. This technology is transportable on board aircraft and allows diagnostic examinations to be carried out directly on board the aircraft, not only in airport areas but also in cases of emergency landings. The Scientific Industrial Committee of the fair has chosen this project as a positive example of "technology and creativity at the service of health".
Luciano Malgaroli, CEO of A&T, commented: "Planning this new edition was not easy, as it is as if we had organized the number zero of A&T, there is a before and after pandemic to consider. The numbers have positively surprised us, the companies have joined with great enthusiasm and optimism, in fact we had no difficulty in organizing a program of the highest quality. The public has rewarded our efforts, confirming that what companies need more than ever today is concreteness and sharing. Among the stands of the Oval Lingotto, in front of the maxi-screens, in the squares of the workshops, it was possible to perceive the desire to throw one's heart over the obstacle, working together to grow in terms of competitiveness and culture, and innovation is the perfect synthesis of this".
