Wireless Carbon Footprint Monitor Wins element14 Clean Air Design Challenge
“In the Air” competition asks engineers to create wirelessly-powered IoT solutions for the environment
A real-time carbon footprint monitoring system was named the winner in the “In the Air” design competition, sponsored by the element14 Community, in which 15 engineers from around the world competed to develop pollution measurement applications inspired by the Internet of Things (IoT) movement. The competition was supported by Cisco Systems, Texas Instruments (TI), Wurth Elektronik, The Eclipse Foundation, Sierra Wireless and Keysight Technologies.
The winning design, created by element14 member Christever del Rosario of New Zealand, allows users to monitor their carbon footprint in real time and make adjustments to their activity based on triggers and “daily allowance” warnings provided by del Rosario’s device. del Rosario took home the top prize – a 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display, a U1273A OLED Multimeter from Keysight and a SimpleLink™ Bluetooth® Smart SensorTag – for his design, courtesy of TI with additional support from Sierra Wireless.
“We congratulate all of the challengers for their hard work and commend them on their eye for innovation,” said Dianne Kibbey, Global Head of Community, element14. “Christever’s design and those of the other 14 participants demonstrate how element14 is ‘Engineering a Connected World’ by providing cutting-edge technologies like IoT and wireless power to combat issues like global warming.”
Connected technologies continue to rise to prominence in the eyes of both professional engineers and the public. In a global study of more than 3,500 adults as part of its “Engineering a Connected World” initiative, element14 found most people believe renewable energy (56 percent) and the environment (47 percent) should be a top priority for technology and innovation. These findings make initiatives like the In the Air challenge all the more relevant as growing numbers of people seek support when developing innovative solutions to everyday problems such as pollution.
“The Clean Air Design Challenge projects are truly inspiring as they look to solve a real-world environmental issue,” said Amit Hammer, product line manager, Wireless Connectivity Solutions, TI. “It’s exciting for us to see our SimpleLink ultra-low power wireless MCU platform leveraged in these creative designs from such promising developers. As the IoT continues to gain traction we look forward to bringing connectivity everywhere, including when it comes to our environment.”
Alongside del Rosario, Inderpreet Singh of India was named Community Choice Winner for his “Firecracker Aftermath Analyzer,” an air pollution analyzer equipped with a full range of sensors to monitor for air temperature, NO2 and carbon monoxide levels, particulates, humidity, oxygen and sulphur-based gases. Singh received a 13-inch MacBook Air and SimpleLink Bluetooth Smart SensorTag for his winning entry.
element14 also named two Honorable Mentions of the In the Air challenge. Ambrogio Galbusera of Italy was recognized for his AirMobile, a vehicle sensor and pollution monitor powered by heat from the car’s radiator that delivers data in real time to the driver’s smartphone. Janis Alnis of Latvia also won Honorable Mention for his Air Quality Monitor that analyzes oxygen and CO2 levels in classrooms via the ventilation system. Galbusera and Alnis both also received the SimpleLink Bluetooth Smart®/Multi-Standard SensorTag from element14.
Competitors were judged on their creativity, quality of documentation and the execution of their projects. To aid in their designs, participants received the TI Sitara™ AM335x-based BeagleBone Black from element14, power inductors from Wurth Elektronik, TI’s SimpleLink Wi-Fi® CC3200 LaunchPad and TI’s ultra-low-power MSP430FR5969 FRAM MCU LaunchPad.
To view content from all 15 In the Air challengers or to learn more about the award-winning, 300,000-member element14 Community of design engineers, visit www.element14.com/intheair.
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