https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/Monthly Electronics & Design Project Competitions. Build projects around themes, submit video proof, and win free products regardless of level of expertise.en-USTelligent Community 12https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/show-and-tell/posts/cutebitrobotThu, 25 Jun 2026 18:06:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:e7cf8eca-780a-4f51-a3d4-ee7b7d004635arjunkulkarniThe Expressive AI Desktop Robot CuteBit is an open-source, voice-controlled AI robot that combines a powerful Local LLM "Brain" (running on a host PC) with an expressive ESP32 "Body" . Unlike standard voice assistants, CuteBit has a physical presence, capable of moving, expressing emotions via animated eyes, and responding to natural language commands with personality. GitHubespraspberry pihttps://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/p/show-and-tell-your-electronics-projectsWed, 24 Jun 2026 11:58:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:1d08ee81-2511-48f4-90bc-3bdb185635f3Have you ever built an exciting electronics project but have nowhere to show it off? Share it on the element14 Community in our Show & Tell competition! It could be something you built previously in your spare time, at work, as part of your university studies, or something you are working on right now. All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is write a blog and include all the photos, videos, diagrams, code, etc. that you can. How To Win To be in the running to win the prize, submit your project here as a blog: When writing your project entry, you will be expected to include: Your plan for your project, how it works and what it does, and what inspired you to build it. Document step-by-step how you built your project. Any interesting problems you ran into and how you solved them or worked around them. If your project is a work in progress, document what stage your project is at right now and what is working/not working, and what your remaining challenges are. Click here for a full guide on how to write a winning project blog. Below are some recent projects submitted by community members to give you an idea of potential layouts for project blogs and how you can incorporate images etc. into your blog: Important Dates Competition open for submissions 24th June - 30th August 2026 Deadline for submissions 23:59 UK time 30th August 2026 Winners announced 4th September 2026 Prizes shipped (estimated) 11th September2026 If you have any problems with the element14 Community or engaging with the competition, please "Report a Problem" in Feedback and Support . About Project14 Competitions This is your opportunity to build an electronics project using just what you have lying around, what you can upcycle or purchase, and be in with a chance of winning a prize! Project14 competitions are lots of fun, no pressure, and a chance to share with like-minded engineers and makers across the world.https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/makevemberTue, 16 Jun 2026 14:18:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:10070507-eefa-4a01-8dac-3585244c96beProjects and Creations for the Makers Month of Novemberhttps://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connectionTue, 16 Jun 2026 13:40:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:1767bdd8-b5e1-46c6-89d3-506349394ff6Post your Project Competition Entries for the Make a Connection competitionhttps://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/show-and-tellTue, 16 Jun 2026 13:15:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:99addf86-7e7a-4b91-900a-8abfeec01dc5Post your Project Competition Entries for the Show and Tell competitionhttps://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/opampapalooza/m/managed-videos/151438Tue, 16 Jun 2026 10:51:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:64718c92-7dc2-4e2f-af88-1c60a2600bd9fmilburnThis video shows a simple circuit that can be used to control the position of an typical remote control (RC) style servo with an analog voltage. The PWM (pulse width modulated) control signal format for an RC servo is reviewed, followed by the pre...tutorialelectronicElectrical Network (Invention)Radio Control (Invention)rcDirect CurrentRC servoscopeopampServomechanism (Invention)pwmtektronixop ampcircuitrobotoscilloscopeoperational amplifierservocomparatorpulse width modulationvoltagetekvoltschematicintegratorelectronicsanalogW2AEWhysteresishttps://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/newsWed, 10 Jun 2026 15:40:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:85830e77-b970-430f-8261-d2750145a3dbProject14 News and Updates from the element14 Community Teamhttps://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/spring-clean/m/managed-videos/151422Mon, 08 Jun 2026 14:32:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:5dd93dc9-9990-4f39-a2d1-ebc9b51d0a11obonesFrom playground to pergolahttps://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/spring-clean/b/spring-clean-projects-2026/posts/the-not-electronic-projectMon, 08 Jun 2026 14:31:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:f8722330-8c2a-4461-9b72-50a275a9e0d4obonesFirst of all, this is not an entry in this competition as it is in no way related to electronics, and to make it clearer, I submitted it outside of the expected dates on purpose. However, as it was discussed in the forum and because it seemed some of you might be interested in what I was up to this spring, here is a little recap. Back when my kids were younger, we bought a wooden swing and slide “playground” that was anchored to the ground with four cement blocks. As they overgrew it, it has been sitting there without much use and because of a design flaw, it even started to bend on itself as can be seen on this picture: The bend at the top is due to the fact that the manufacturer did not provide a single beam for the top, but rather one long and one very small that are “joined” by the metal piece in the middle. As it turns out, and that was visible early in the life of this installation, this led to some bending, which thankfully never turned into a full blow security risk. Two years ago, I stumbled on a social media post that showed the conversion of a similar playset to a pergola/gazebo where one could place a few nice outdoor chairs to enjoy the long summer nights. This got me thinking as to how I could apply the same concept to my slightly different situation, and with the help of both Google Earth and FreeCAD, I came up with three potential arrangements, bearing in mind that this should reuse wood as much as possible while being reasonable in cost. On the following pictures, the existing wood is in yellow while new one is in brown. The first idea was to “suspend” the roof with chains so that it could slightly move with the wind, while not obstructing passage around the existing legs: This one has the highest cost and I was doubtful of its stability, on top of making the roof go quite low at around 2m from the ground. This led me to this second design: This reused even more wood and the stability would be greater, but creating the joints a mid-height on the existing legs was a mind puzzle for me. I mean, I could always use metal plates and bolts, but it felt like it would apply lots of pressure at the midpoint of a beam, which to me is the exact location of its weakest point. And so the final design is the one that I find stronger as it looks like an inverted version of the triangular truss that is present under my tile roof. Sure, it needs more “new” wood than the others, but I’m more confident about its durability. With all this decided, and with a bit of patience to get the various parts delivered or picked up, I worked in steps. The first one was to mark each beam with a line centered on the same side, and for this I used my 3-plane laser level. This had to be done at night because even if it’s using a green laser, it was not visible enough during the day. {gallery}Build steps IMAGE TITLE: IMAGE TITLE: IMAGE TITLE: IMAGE TITLE: IMAGE TITLE: One thing that occurred during those times is that the top beam was a bit too wide for the metal connectors. I mean, they both are supposed to be 10cm diameter, but somehow one side would not fit through. This was solved by generously applying “tractor grease” (lithium grease leftovers from the auto repair shop) to both the beam extremity and the metal connector inside, helping everything to slide in. Now that the structure was in place, it was time to prepare the “roof” with some wire framing meant to receive it. The tensioning springs are reused from the late trampoline, long gone to the waste center but of which I kept pieces “just in case”. And three week-ends after starting the works, it was finally time to install reed screening on top: As you may notice, two large boards have been added diagonally on the exterior. This was needed because the entire structure had a tendency to strafe to the right, potentially leading to a whole collapse over time. The two boards are there to rigidify the entire frame and even if the angle is not that big, they appear to work their purpose just fine. You may also see that the three horizontal parallel beams are all under the reed screening while the 3D rendering showed only the middle one. That’s because the rendering is based on an ideal world where the terrain is perfectly flat and the original playset had been installed perfectly square. But such is life that nothing’s perfect, so I had to adjust to reality while putting it all together. In the end, I’m quite pleased with the result, the only remaining thing is to hook up the 4mx4m mosquito net with carabiniers onto the wire hooks so that it can be removed and stored away safely during harsher weather. And if you are into timelapse videos, here are more than 7 cumulated work hours condensed in a few seconds: https://youtu.be/MYqqZ5p6Rh8 All in all, this cost about 375€ which I find reasonable for a sturdy 4mx4m pergola. I hope you enjoyed this recap as much as I enjoyed building this.reuseSpring Clean 2026