element14 Community Names Finalists in the “Sci Fi Your Pi” design challenge, sponsored by Pi Trading
May 11, 2015 – CHICAGO – The element Community has named the 25 engineers from around the world who will take part it in the “Sci Fi Your Pi” design competition, sponsored by Pi Trading. Competitors will have from now until September 2015 to create Raspberry Pi-based devices inspired by their favorite science fiction films.
“The response to the Sci Fi Your Pi challenge has been overwhelming and element14 congratulates the 25 creative individuals chosen to take part,” said Dianne Kibbey, Global Head of Community, element14. “This is one of our most ambitious competitions to date and we’re excited to see how these participants step up to challenge and create working prototypes from their favorite sci-fi movie and comic book props using the revolutionary new Raspberry Pi 2.”
The 25 finalists and their proposed projects include:
Brenda Armour (Canada) – Rover Pi Protector – A mobile detection device that captures photos and videos of wildlife using a GPS navigation system, inspired by the Alien trilogy
Neil Bizzell (United Kingdom) – Steampunk Navigation Aid – A navigational aid that can be preset to deliver step-by-step directions to the user’s destination, inspired by the works of Jules Verne and HG Wells
Joe Carender (United States) – Intelligent Body Armor – Body-mounted sensors and a wireless helmet-mounted display that track temperature, heart rate, humidity, GPS location, wind speed and the level of damage to the armor, inspired by the Crysis video game
Vivien Chin (Singapore) – Advanced Dog Trainer – Sound and motion sensors that pre-emptively dispense dog food or treats before the dog barks, inspired by The Jetsons
Trevor Clarke (United Kingdom) – I Ching Hexagrams – Visual depiction and audio description of I Ching Hexagrams, with voice-activated control, inspired by the Illuminatus Trilogy
Eric Ellwanger (United States) – Escape from the Past – A “serial master” and communication channel that can send data to a central base for analysis across a variety of engineering needs, inspired by Back to the Future
Ambrogio Galbusera (Italy) – Training Hover Sphere – A hovering sphere that fires non-lethal laser beams for defensive combat training, inspired by Star Wars
Sebastian Groza (Romania) – Cybernetic Computer Interface – A borg-like computer interface, inspired by Star Wars
Michael Hahn (United States) – Handheld Sensor Device – A scientific tricorder used to evaluate the environment’s atmospheric conditions, temperature and humidity, inspired by Star Trek
Augusto Lisboa (Brazil) – Diplomatic Robot Head – A robot that recognizes speech and text language, with the ability to search and relay information on various laws, inspired by Star Wars
Mark Loomis (United States) – Glove Computer & Control – A leather glove and computer system to control vehicles, inspired by Star Wars
Eric Lovejoy (United States) – Empathy Box – A portable, networked device that connects anonymous people through shared warmth, inspired by the book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Enrico Miglino (Spain) – Meditech – A multimeter built to continuously measure and probe the conditions of an unknown environment, inspired by Star Trek
Wilson Oberholzer (United States) – KITT Car – A dashboard console for the vehicle, with special sound effects and visual cues based on the ones in the Knight Rider TV series.
Margot Paez (United States) – Pizza Pi – An Internet-connected pizza box that tracks loss of heat or shape during its delivery, inspired by the sci-fi novel Snow Crash
Cecil Perks (United States) – Visus Sancto – An IR camera mount and heads-up display that detects the presence of paranormal activity, inspired by Hellboy 2
Arsenijs Picugins (Latvia) – PipBoy Personal Helper – A wrist-worn computer that provides health, travel and task management information, inspired by the videogame Fallout
K.C. Rajesh (Canada) – PiBo – A robot on wheels that provides helpful multimedia information to engineers or scientists working on a project, inspired by the Flubber movie
Kenny Rasschaert (Belgium) – Real-Life Holographic Projector - A telepresence video conferencing tool that projects images onto transparent surfaces to give the illusion of a hologram, inspired by Star Wars
Shrenik Shikhare (India) – Sci-Fi Advanced Controls – A computer interface that responds to gesture controls, inspired by Iron Man
Harsahib Singh (India) – Verbal and Physical Morality Monitor – A speech recognition program that detects and alerts users of abusive or offensive language in the home or workplace, inspired by Demolition Man
Inderpreet Singh (India) – VIRUS – Voice and gesture-instructed robots and control of universal systems, inspired by Iron Man
Joey Thompson (United States) – QuadCop – A low-cost, custom-build quadcopter that performs security screenings, inspired by the Terminator franchise
Frederick Vandenbosch (Belgium) – Futuristic Desk – Touch and motion controls for the desk, inspired by Tron Legacy
Jeremy Walker (United States) – Robotic Assistant – A robot that can assist the user in completing everyday household tasks, inspired by The Jetsons
Each competitor will receive a full suite of Raspberry Pi accessories, including the PiFace Control & Display, Raspberry Pi B+ and Raspberry Pi A+ boards and PiFace Digital from Newark element14. Competitors will also be given a free license for CadSoft Eagle, the market-leading PCB design software, to execute their projects.
Competitors will be judged on the innovativeness of their designs, as well as the level of inspiration drawn from the world of science fiction. Each participant will document their progress through photos, videos and blog posts at the element14 Community.
The winner, chosen by a panel of expert judges, will receive $500 worth of sci-fi movie memorabilia. A Community Choice winner will be selected by popular vote at element14 and receive an introductory robotics set.
The Sci Fi Your Pi challenge is the latest in a series of competitions as part of a new initiative from element14 called Engineering a Connected World, designed to drive innovation by connecting engineers to powerful new ideas, the latest technologies and to each other to make the ordinary, extraordinary.
To learn more about Sci Fi Your Pi and to follow all of the competitor’s blogs, visit: element14.com/sci-fi-your-pi.
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