ESM 2024 in Beautiful Bavaria
ESM returned with full force at Das Achental in Grassau, Bavaria, chaired by Dr. Michael Morlock.
ESM 2024 was a great meeting connecting scientists, researchers, students, inventors, and colleagues. The program was focused on diverse and extensive insight into the current state of research in pressure and force loading in both humans and animals, with plenty of discussion and socializing as well. The festivities began on Saturday evening with a welcome reception and dinner with a delicious assortment of traditional Bavarian cuisine.
The scientific presentation sessions began Sunday, with topics ranging from foot and ankle deformities and mechanics, gait analysis, wearable technology, diabetic foot complications and plantar pressure, sports medicine, hand mechanics, rehabilitation, and much more. Each presentation was followed with questions and lively discussion. The penultimate session of the day was focused on the DIALECT project, which discussed exploring footwear design for individuals with diabetes, based on studies over 3 years and using new novel measurement technology for long-term monitoring of foot load. On that evening the threat of storms cancelled the planned outdoor barbeque dinner, but the staff at Das Achental prepared a terrific indoor barbeque style dinner in its place.
Monday continued the fantastic discussions, including a special session on the growing influence of artificial intelligence and machine learning on biomechanics and research. The afternoon consisted of keynote lectures from our chair and distinguished scientific committee, including Drs. Antonio Veloso, Uwe Kersting, Nathalie Kerstin-Mrachaz, Robin Queen, and Thomas Mittlmeier. The evening included a wonderful piano concert featuring Henriette Gärtner, playing Beethoven’s fantastic Piano Sonata Opus111. Henriette also presented her research earlier in the conference on piano playing coordination as it affects sound quality. The night’s dinner featured another Bavarian banquet and was capped off with the awards ceremony. Dr. Jaap van Netten was awarded the prestigious “art in science® Award”, while Drs. Robin Queen and Markus Wimmer were awarded the Best Presentation and Best Poster, respectively.
novel was proud to reveal the new pedar electronics, plidar, during the ESM meeting. This replaces the preexisting pedar analyzer and battery, belt and cable system with a pair of small electronics that connect directly to pedar insoles. A brief demonstration of plidar hardware and the new Scientific Studio software was shown to everyone in attendance, and the amazement from the crowd was palpable. At a weight of 54 grams and up to 400 Hz sampling rate, plidar was the talk of the town.
The final day was reserved for the popular networking event focused on the natural beauty of Bavaria. While the weather did not always cooperate during the conference, the rain held up just in time to safely scale the Kampenwand in the Bavarian Alps. Whether hiking or taking the gondola to the summit, beautiful and magnificent views of Chiemsee and the surrounding area were guaranteed. A much-needed lunch waited for us at the peak, while hundreds of friendly cattle lined the mountainside.
It was the perfect end to the successful return of ESM. Many thanks to Peter Seitz for enabling 17 ESM meetings since 1989. We feel honored to have been able to serve our users and guests with these impactful and enjoyable events! Many thanks to the excellent scientific committee , Anke Stoltz, Celina Seitz and everyone involved in planning and organizing the exciting conference. And first of all many thanks to all participants for joining us in upper Bavaria, some coming very long distance from overseas.
Don’t miss out on the full experience of ESM 2024! Visit our event website to relive the highlights and explore our extensive photo gallery with over 400 photos capturing the best moments from the conference: