RS announces winners of DesignSpark chipKIT challenge

Entrants were invited to produce an open source energy efficient and eco friendly solution based on the Arduino compatible chipKIT Max32 development platform from Digilent, which features Microchip Technology's 32bit PIC32 microcontroller. Entries were required to include an extension card developed using RS' DesignSpark pcb software tool with code compiled using Microchip's MPLAB IDE software. "Achieving greater sustainability in today's increasingly energy hungry world is a constant challenge for embedded systems designers," said Mark Cundle, head of technical marketing at RS Components. "This competition has sparked the exchange of ideas among engineers globally and has resulted in the development of many interesting and innovative solutions to help reduce energy consumption." Entries were judged on energy efficiency and pcb design, with cash prizes worth a total of $10,000 awarded to eight projects. The top three designs received $5000, $3000 and $1000 respectively. First prize went to Dean Boman from the US for the 'Energy Monitoring System', which produces real time electrical circuit data via a webpage to help homeowners make energy usage decisions. For more information about the competition winners, click here.