Since its inaugural edition in 2012, ApplePies has established itself as a vital forum for researchers, practitioners, and industry professionals working at the intersection of applied electronics and societal applications. Over more than a decade of annual conferences, we have witnessed the remarkable evolution of technologies that now pervade industry, environment, and society—from early embedded systems research to the contemporary Internet of Things ecosystem that connects billions of devices worldwide.
The conference has consistently provided a platform where academic rigor meets industrial relevance, fostering dialogue and collaboration that bridges the gap between laboratory innovation and real-world deployment. Each edition has reflected the state of the art in its time while simultaneously pointing toward emerging challenges and opportunities in the field of applied electronics.
A Journey Across Europe
ApplePies has been hosted in several prominent Italian cities, each edition benefiting from the unique academic and industrial ecosystems of its location. Genova has welcomed the conference multiple times, leveraging its strong maritime and industrial heritage alongside its research institutions. Pisa, with its world-renowned universities and research centers, has provided an inspiring backdrop for discussions on embedded systems and sensor technologies. The conference has also been held in other locations that have enriched the experience with their particular strengths in electronics research and industrial applications.
The choice of venues has always reflected our commitment to connecting with different regional innovation hubs throughout Italy, while maintaining the international character that brings researchers from across Europe and beyond. This geographic diversity has enabled participants to engage not only with cutting-edge research presentations but also with the local industrial fabric and technology clusters that characterize each host city.
Evolution of Themes and Technologies
The thematic arc of ApplePies editions mirrors the dramatic transformation of applied electronics over the past decade. Early conferences focused heavily on fundamental embedded systems architectures, sensor design principles, and energy-efficient computing—topics that laid the groundwork for subsequent innovations. As the field matured, we witnessed increasing emphasis on wireless sensor networks, which gradually evolved into the broader IoT paradigm that now dominates much of the research landscape.
Throughout our editions, several recurring themes have emerged as constant threads in the applied electronics community:
- Energy efficiency and power management in battery-operated and energy-harvesting systems
- Radiation-hardened electronics for harsh environments and aerospace applications
- Real-time embedded systems for industrial automation and control
- Sensor fusion and intelligent sensing for environmental monitoring
- Communication protocols and connectivity solutions for distributed systems
- Safety, security, and reliability in mission-critical applications
More recent editions have increasingly addressed emerging challenges such as edge computing, artificial intelligence at the device level, cybersecurity for embedded systems, and the sustainability implications of pervasive electronics. The conference has also expanded its scope to encompass the societal dimensions of technology deployment, examining how applied electronics can address challenges in healthcare, smart cities, environmental protection, and industrial transformation.
Publication Record and Academic Impact
A distinguishing feature of ApplePies has been the consistent publication of proceedings in the Springer Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering bookseries, which is indexed by both Scopus and ISI Web of Science. This ensures that research presented at the conference achieves wide visibility and contributes to the permanent scholarly record in the field of applied electronics.
Beyond the conference proceedings themselves, ApplePies has established partnerships with leading journals to provide extended publication opportunities for the most outstanding contributions. Authors of the best papers from several editions have been invited to submit enhanced versions of their work to special issues in journals such as Energies and Sensors, both published by MDPI and indexed in major scientific databases. These special issues have covered diverse topics ranging from energy-efficient sensing systems to innovative applications of embedded electronics in industrial and environmental contexts.
This multi-tier publication strategy ensures that ApplePies serves not merely as a presentation venue but as a launching pad for impactful research that continues to resonate within the scientific community long after each conference concludes.
Building an Interdisciplinary Community
Perhaps the most enduring achievement of ApplePies across its editions has been the cultivation of a distinctive community that transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries. The conference deliberately brings together electrical engineers, computer scientists, physicists, industrial practitioners, and domain specialists from sectors as varied as manufacturing, healthcare, transportation, and environmental management.
This interdisciplinary character reflects our fundamental conviction that the most significant advances in applied electronics emerge at the boundaries between fields. An embedded system is not merely an engineering artifact but a component of larger socio-technical systems. A sensor network is not simply a collection of devices but an enabler of new ways of understanding and interacting with our environment. The industrial liaisons and business-academy dialogue that we specifically target have led to collaborative projects, technology transfers, and mutual learning that would be difficult to achieve in more narrowly focused venues.
Looking Forward While Honoring Our History
As we reflect on the journey from 2012 to 2023, we recognize that ApplePies has evolved alongside the technologies it examines. The conference that began in an era when smartphones were still relatively novel now operates in a world where embedded intelligence is ubiquitous, where billions of connected devices generate unprecedented streams of data, and where applied electronics plays a central role in addressing global challenges from climate change to pandemic response.
Our commitment to free registration for all interested participants has remained constant throughout all editions, embodying our belief that knowledge exchange should be as open and accessible as possible. This policy has enabled broader participation, particularly from early-career researchers and practitioners from smaller institutions or organizations, enriching the conference with diverse perspectives and fresh ideas.
The past editions of ApplePies constitute more than a chronicle of technological progress—they represent a living archive of how a community of researchers and practitioners has grappled with the challenges and opportunities of making electronics truly pervasive in industry, environment, and society. As we continue this journey, we build upon the foundations established over more than a decade of collaborative innovation and scholarly exchange.