Engineers have longer to ‘Change the World’ with element14 competition

The competition asks designers to think of creative ways they could use $1,000 worth of products from element14 to make a positive impact. Entrants provide a short explanation of their ideas, together with a list of the products they would use, and ten finalists will receive their chosen products to the value of $1,000 to make their idea real.

“Once you have an idea, entering is really simple and only takes a few minutes,” said Steve Carr, Head of Marketing for Premier Farnell. “With over 650,000 products to choose from, we’ve already seen some great ideas that use technology to have a positive impact.”

Entrants simply need an idea that uses element14 products to make a positive impact on the world through technology. Ideas that could change the world range from potentially life-saving wearables that monitor the user’s health to 3D-printed honeycombs that help bees produce more honey. Other innovators might choose to change their particular world: a pressure sensing football based on the Raspberry Pi, for example, has been used in America to improve the power of players’ shots.

The range of products that could be used to change the world is vast. Single-board computers, such as the Raspberry Pi and Beagle Bone Black, have already been used in projects ranging from high performance computing clusters for scientific research to a NASA space rover. Alternatively, entrants might be able to find a way to change the world with test equipment or even simple consumables like adhesives.

“We’ve already been impressed by the quality of ideas that have been submitted to our Change the World competition,” commented Steve. “The deadline extension will give more people a chance to Change the World with technology.”

The winners will also be given the chance to spend time with the element14 team to explore the options for taking the design to production. Engineers looking to enter the competition can find more information here.