Our Top Members have all participated in atleast 1 Design Challenge and here's why...

Every design challenge has a theme and it says somethings real about the issues of the world around us. Electronics have always fascinated me and I have spent a large part of my life learning about it. What I have since realised is that electronics and technology in general is just a tool to solve a problem. Finding the problem is a challenge in itself and finding a better solution is another. I started with design challenges at element14 with the wireless power challenge which I applied for just for fun. I thought 'hey, why not' and I already had a problem in mind. It took me a while to get a feel of what I was doing and it was fun as @doctorcdf helped understand the process and try to get the necessary parts. The end result was not very inspiring to most but it was a start to me.

Next came the forget me not which was something I really put a lot of time and energy into. My application was appreciated as one of the best and serves as an example by e14 which is an honour for me. It was about solving the problems at my own home and I enjoyed the entire process of building a maze of small diy modules and the end result needed two whole pages to summarise. It helped me again to organise my thoughts and I earned the love and respect of a lot of people. Best prize ever!

I also did some posts for the internet of the backyard challenge at my expense but at the end dropped off due to lack of time.

Next came the internet of holiday lights which was something I reluctantly entered but my need for the first prize which was a 3d printer forced my hand. I proposed a more specific and reduced project which was again based on a real requirement which was decorating my living room. Turns out I did a good job and me and my wife won a Cel Robox as did Peter Oakes.

Next came the In the Air which was again something based out of a need to create an air quality sensor. Some tutorials and build posts later, I got my little air quality sensor working and this time I learned how to research data on sensors and the like.

I did some posts for the SciFi your Pi but other engagements kept slowing down progress. I entered this one for fun and it kinda drifted away at the end.

The last one was a roadtest plus LED RT PLUS by TI and WE. I wanted to make a modular connected light and ended up making an IoT Light for my baby's room that we can dim using a web interface. I won the challenge which was a plus but again, the project was rooted into a real world problem.

The point here is that most of the design challenges I entered were because I saw an opportunity to address a problem in real life and it has helped me to grow. Life is about learning and design challenges are about trying to do something in a theme and learning by doing.

Most of the stuff I have posted can be found by searching for the tag ip_iot and though not everything is inspirational, some of it has been found to be useful.

Thanks

Every design challenge has a theme and it says somethings real about the issues of the world around us. Electronics have always fascinated me and I have spent a large part of my life learning about it. What I have since realised is that electronics and technology in general is just a tool to solve a problem. Finding the problem is a challenge in itself and finding a better solution is another. I started with design challenges at element14 with the wireless power challenge which I applied for just for fun. I thought 'hey, why not' and I already had a problem in mind. It took me a while to get a feel of what I was doing and it was fun as @doctorcdf helped understand the process and try to get the necessary parts. The end result was not very inspiring to most but it was a start to me.

Next came the forget me not which was something I really put a lot of time and energy into. My application was appreciated as one of the best and serves as an example by e14 which is an honour for me. It was about solving the problems at my own home and I enjoyed the entire process of building a maze of small diy modules and the end result needed two whole pages to summarise. It helped me again to organise my thoughts and I earned the love and respect of a lot of people. Best prize ever!

I also did some posts for the internet of the backyard challenge at my expense but at the end dropped off due to lack of time.

Next came the internet of holiday lights which was something I reluctantly entered but my need for the first prize which was a 3d printer forced my hand. I proposed a more specific and reduced project which was again based on a real requirement which was decorating my living room. Turns out I did a good job and me and my wife won a Cel Robox as did Peter Oakes.

Next came the In the Air which was again something based out of a need to create an air quality sensor. Some tutorials and build posts later, I got my little air quality sensor working and this time I learned how to research data on sensors and the like.

I did some posts for the SciFi your Pi but other engagements kept slowing down progress. I entered this one for fun and it kinda drifted away at the end.

The last one was a roadtest plus LED RT PLUS by TI and WE. I wanted to make a modular connected light and ended up making an IoT Light for my baby's room that we can dim using a web interface. I won the challenge which was a plus but again, the project was rooted into a real world problem.

The point here is that most of the design challenges I entered were because I saw an opportunity to address a problem in real life and it has helped me to grow. Life is about learning and design challenges are about trying to do something in a theme and learning by doing.

Most of the stuff I have posted can be found by searching for the tag ip_iot and though not everything is inspirational, some of it has been found to be useful.

Thanks