element14.com, an Avnet community, has announced its latest Project14 design contest entitled ‘Digital Fever’. The challenge celebrates the freedom of all things digital, from digital logic, and programming for complex decision making, to FPGA, which can be configured to do just about anything. Members of the online community will have the opportunity to design any type of digital project with free choice of components.  The 5 best proposals that utilise the Arduino MKR VIDOR Board or PSCoC4200 board from Cypress Infineon will receive boards to help complete their projects.

Ideas for inspiration include:

• Digital Logic µFR NFC Card Reader - part 1 which shows how you can make a simple console program that checks the type of card is on top of the reader, and get the card ID.
• VidorScout - MKR Vidor 4000 Mobile Robot​, an autonomous mobile robot that uses Sensor Fusion which combines camera vision, Time of Flight Sensor data and IR Sensors to identify objects for both avoidance and for object identification.
• Flipping Core Memory Bits Directly With a Magnetic Stylus, a project which has now been developed into a product, available to buy at www.core64.io.

Members looking to tackle a project utilising FPGA can brush up on their skills by delving into the vast range of resources available on the element14 Community including projects undertaken by members of its Path II Programmable training program, its range of essentials courses and FPGA group.

A monthly design competition open to makers and engineers of all backgrounds and skill levels, Project14 was developed to promote shared learning and cooperation among members of the element14 Community. Participants are asked to document their progress through a series of blogs, with the best executed projects eligible for a chance of winning a $200 credit for use at Farnell in Europe, Newark in North America or element14 in Asia Pacific.

All Project14 challenges are based on suggestions from element14 Community members, with each month’s theme selected by a public poll. The Digital Fever contest was inspired by a suggestion from Jan Cumps who wanted to "flip that bit" with a digital logic competition involving anything from FPGA, logic gate ICs, CMOS logic, TTL, DTL, and discrete.

To enter the Project14 Digital Fever Contest, participants simply need to register an account at the element14 Community and submit a blog entry detailing their idea and how they plan to develop it.

Submissions are open until 14 April, 2021. For more information including full terms and conditions, visit: element14.com/project14

To register to become a member of the element14 Community, visit http://www.element14.com/.

element14.com, an Avnet community, has announced its latest Project14 design contest, themed around reducing electronics waste by upcycling vintage electronics. Members of the online community will have the opportunity to repurpose any unused appliance to make it into something new, unique and useful. By upcycling electronics that no longer serve a purpose, members of the community are able to celebrate the best parts of vintage electronics while improving them to make them function in today’s electronics environment.

A monthly design competition open to makers and engineers of all backgrounds and skill levels, Project14 was developed to promote shared learning and cooperation among members of the element14 Community. Participants are asked to document their progress through a series of blogs, with the best executed projects eligible for a chance of winning a $200 credit for use at Newark in North America, Farnell in Europe or element14 in Asia Pacific.

All Project14 challenges are based on suggestions from element14 community members, with each month’s theme selected by a public poll. The Recycle & Retrofit challenge was inspired by a workshop on Vintage Upcycling hosted by Enrico Miglino: 

To enter the Project14 Recycle & Retrofit Design Contest, participants simply need to register an account at the element14 Community and submit a blog entry detailing their idea and how they plan to develop it.

Submissions are open until December 14, 2020. For more information including full terms and conditions, visit: www.element14.com/upcycle

To register to become a member of the element14 Community, visit http://www.element14.com/

element14, an Avnet community, announced the launch of the “Fighting Germs” Project14 design challenge. The challenge is engaging element14’s problem-solving designers and engineers to find innovative solutions to fighting germs, one of the most efficient ways to slow the spread of COVID-19.

The goal of this challenge is for members of the element14 Community to create an affordable project that utilises resources and components that are readily available so others can easily replicate their designs. The hope is that numerous people around the world will be able to help slow and prevent the spread of COVID-19 in their communities with these innovative approaches.

“Everyone has the opportunity to do their part to help slow the spread of this disease, and that is especially true of our amazing community of engineers, makers and hobbyists,” said Dianne Kibbey, Global Head of Community and Social Media for the element14 Community. “Our members came to us just as the lock-downs started and asked us to launch a challenge for new innovations in this area. We encourage our more than 720,000 members to put their unique design skills to work and create solutions to help prevent the spread of this pandemic.”

The design challenge is tackling today’s most pressing global problem head-on, while encouraging the element14 Community to be part of the solution in fighting the spread of this pandemic. Unlike other design challenges, there are no specific requirements to participate. Potential solutions could include:

• Face protection
• Body temperature monitor/access controls
• Contactless disinfection of frequently touched surfaces
• Automated disease testing

The grand prize winner of the “Fighting Germs” design challenge will win a $200 shopping cart to Farnell.com, a $200 donation to their preferred COVID-19 charitable cause and a Flir thermal imaging camera. An additional 3 winners will each receive $100 shopping carts to Farnell.com to help bring their designs to life along with a UV sanitising lamp. Members can work on tackling this challenge solo or in teams, as long as they collaborate remotely.

element14’s Project14 competition series is by members for members. For this monthly project competition, element14 Community members decide the competition, come up with ideas for new themes, and vote for the themes they want to pursue. By opening this competition to a broad audience, novices, experts, and everyone in between come together to learn from and share with each other as they work to turn their ideas into finished projects.

The “Fighting Germs” Project 14 design challenge is open now through to 15^th June. Winners will be announced by 29^th June.

To learn more about Project 14 and the “Fighting Germs” design challenge, please visit https://www.element14.com/community/community/project14/fightinggerms

element14.com, the online community for engineers, has announced their latest Project14 design contest, themed around ‘Home Automation’. Members of the online community will have the opportunity to create a project that enhances their living space using tech-based solutions such as machine learning, artificial intelligence and automated comfort control.

A monthly design competition open to makers and engineers of all backgrounds and skill levels, Project14 was developed to promote shared learning and co-operation among members of the element14 community. Participants are asked to document their progress through a series of blogs, with the best executed projects in with a chance of winning a $100 shopping cart for use at Farnell element14 in Europe, Newark element14 in North America or element14 in Asia Pacific.

All Project14 challenges are based on suggestions from element14 Community members, with each month’s theme selected by a public poll. The home automation challenge was suggested by community member Cristina Harrison, a developer from Dallas, USA. She was partially inspired by the popular sci-fi series Eureka, which featured an artificially intelligent home called S.A.R.A.H. (Self Actuated Residential Automated Habitat).

Dianne Kibbey, Global Head of Community and Social Media for the element14 Community and Premier Farnell, said: “Project14 is an opportunity for makers and engineers to build confidence, share their talents and showcase their technical skills and creativity, no matter how much prior experience they may have.”

“By opening our monthly competitions to as broad an audience as possible, Project14 is enabling novices, experts and everyone in between to learn from each other and share the journey of turning an idea into a fully realised engineering project, without the need to invest a large amount of time or money.”

“The theme of Home Automation reflects a global rise in interest in smart domestic devices and connected living. I’m excited to see what our members come up with, and to welcome new creative voices into our community through this project.”

To enter the Project14 Home Automation Design Contest, participants simply need to register an account at the element14 Community and submit a blog entry detailing their idea and how they plan to develop it.

Submissions are open until 14 March 2019. For more information including full terms and conditions, visit https://www.element14.com/community/community/project14/homeautomation

To register to become a member of the element14 Community, visit http://www.element14.com/