element14 Announces Winners in “Get Closer” Wearable Technology Challenge

wpolk — Fri, 08 Oct 2021 05:43:53 GMT

Current Revision posted to Documents by wpolk on 10/8/2021 5:43:53 AM

Winning projects used the Adafruit FLORA platform to create the FLORAbrella and ColorCam

October 21, 2013 – CHICAGO – element14 has chosen two winners from eight global finalists as part of its “Get Closer” Wearables Challenge, which invited engineers and hobbyists alike to design a wearable project using the Adafruit FLORA platform. The winners used the platform to develop a unique LED umbrella and a camera that can help children learn colors.

Leslie Birch of Philadelphia developed an umbrella equipped with LED neopixel strips that change color. It has three modes: color match, which uses a color sensor to match colors; a rainbow display; and a simulated rainfall. You can watch a video of Leslie’s FLORAbrella here.

Linda Kaspers of The Netherlands created ColorCam to help teach children colors. It also helps children learn the colors of various objects. When the user takes a picture of any one of Linda’s felt pictures, which depict a red strawberry or a yellow sun, for example, they are given three color choices on the back of the camera. One of the choices is the matching color, and a series of green lights appear if the correct color is selected. View video of Linda’s completed ColorCam here.

“Watching the finalists’ projects evolve was fascinating, and we’re thrilled with what they were able to develop,” said Global Head of Community Dianne Kibbey. “While Linda and Leslie were selected as the winners, we believe every participant exhibited creativity, technical savvy and commitment throughout this Challenge, and we’d like to congratulate everyone on what they accomplished.”

Other builds included a navigation glove, a family of suites comprised of colored strobe LED lights, and a GPS-equipped hat showing neopixel displays based on places visited, among others. “Get Closer” participants documented their progress through blog posts, videos and designs in the Arduino group within the element14 Community.

Adafruit Director of Wearable Electronics Becky Stern added, “Our participation in the ‘Get Closer’ Challenge provided great opportunities to engage with makers, and it was an absolute pleasure to watch the journeys of the eight wearables projects.”

A recent report from Berg Insight estimates that by 2017, companies will ship more than 64 million wearable technology devices, which represents exponential growth from this year’s 400,000 units. First-generation wearables such as the Pebble watch, Samsung Galaxy Gear and Google Glass have paved the way, and the FLORA provides a more accessible way for anyone to start creating their own wearable technology products. Clothing that can recognize and relay the user’s location, environment or status will allow a wide variety of new industrial applications and personal well-being solutions.

As winners of the Challenge, Linda and Leslie will receive a handmade wearable electronics project by Adafruit.

The Adafruit FLORA kits can be purchased in the U.S. from Newark.com, in Europe from Farnell.com and in Asia Pacific from element14.

element14 offers design engineers a space to share project concepts with 200,000 members in its award-winning element14 Community, the first of its kind. Additionally, the industry’s most comprehensive online knowledge resource for electronic design, the Knode on element14, is a first stop for any engineer undertaking a design project with a development kit.

-End-

About element14

Launched in June 2009, element14 is the first information portal, collaborative community and electronics store specifically built for electronic design engineers. The community recently unveiled its element14 knode, a unique automated platform that enables engineers to quickly research, design, develop and prototype in a single, intelligent environment. element14 is an innovative offering from Premier Farnell plc (LSE:pfl), FTSE 250, a leader in multi-channel electronics distribution trading throughout Europe (Farnell), the Americas (Newark) and Asia Pacific (element14). The company had group sales of £952m last year.

For news updates from Premier Farnell visit:

Premier Farnell News Centre – www.premierfarnell.com/media-centre

Twitter - @element14news; @element14

YouTube – element14

Facebook – /element14page

Email: pressoffice@premierfarnell.com

Global Contact:

Ken Leitch

Global Head of PR

Premier Farnell

Tel: +44(0) 207 851 4145

Email: KLeitch@premierfarnell.com

European Contact:

Jen Cooke

PR Manager, Europe and Global

Tel: +44 (0) 113 279 0101

Email: jcooke@premierfarnell.com

EU PR Agency:

Darren Willsher/Andrew Hill

EML Wildfire

Tel: +44 (0) 208 408 8000

Email: element14@emlwildfire.com

APAC Contact:

Christina Loh

Communications, APAC

Tel: + 65 6671 8769

Email: cloh@element14.com

North America Contact:

William Polk

PR and Social Media manager

Email: WPolk@newark.com

Tags: get-closer, get_closer_design_challenge, adafruit_flora, knode, get_closer_challenge, get_closer_chalenge, adafruit, get_closer

Get Closer Wearables Challenge Conclusion Google Hangout

doctorcdf — Fri, 08 Oct 2021 05:43:50 GMT

Current Revision posted to Documents by doctorcdf on 10/8/2021 5:43:50 AM

www.youtube.com/watch

Tags: adafruit_flora, get_closer_challenge, wearable_technology, Wearables, adafruit, get_closer

Live Wearables Broadcast with Becky Stern & Friends at Adafruit

doctorcdf — Fri, 08 Oct 2021 05:33:11 GMT

Current Revision posted to Documents by doctorcdf on 10/8/2021 5:33:11 AM

	Live Wearables Broadcast with Becky Stern & Friends at Adafruit July 10, 2013 - 2:00 PM EST

Join Becky Stern, Adafruit’s Director of Wearable Electronics, for a Adafruit FLORA - Get Closer Wearables Challenge kick-off LIVE hangout on-air! Learn what wearable electronics is all about and get inspired by a multitude of DIY projects you can build at home! We hope you’ll come away feeling confident and energized to create your own wearables.

What:   Live wearables broadcast with Becky Stern & friends at Adafruit
When:   Wednesday July 10, time TBD
Where:   Adafruit’s Google+ page: http://plus.google.com/+adafruit

Submit your questions now and we’ll answer them during the live broadcast! We’ll even invite a few lucky inquisitors to join us in the hangout, so get your questions in! We want to know your questions about developing your own DIY wearables, the FLORA platform, working with conductive textiles, and more.

Questions can be posted in the Arduino group on element14, on the announcement blog post on Adafruit, or directly to Becky via Twitter (@bekathwia).

Schedule

2pm ET:   Hangout begins broadcasting! Go to http://plus.google.com/+adafruit to watch live.
2:05:   Adafruit FLORA - Get Closer Wearables Challenge overview
2:10:   Show & Tell with the best Adafruit wearables projects
2:30:   Q&A
2:40:   Hangout concludes

Tags: google_hangout, get_closer_challenge, wearable_technology, webinar, adafruit

Documents

migration.user — Fri, 01 Oct 2021 18:02:30 GMT

Current Revision posted to Documents by migration.user on 10/1/2021 6:02:30 PM