element14, an Avnet Community, in collaboration with Hammond Manufacturing, is launching the “Experimenting with Extreme Environments” Design Challenge. Ten experimenters will have the opportunity to build projects that are able to withstand extreme environmental conditions, such as drastic temperature changes, dust, humidity and more, by using the provided kit to build an electronics system, house the system in an enclosure and perform experiments to test the enclosure against extreme conditions.
“IoT solutions are increasingly being implemented around the world, which means that electronic devices are frequently being installed in, and exposed to harsh and extreme environments,” said Andreea Teodorescu, Global Director of Product Marketing & element14 Community. “We want this challenge to showcase that environmental impact firsthand and educate our members on the importance of safeguarding measures, specifically the use of electronic enclosures.”
Participants will receive a kit with the following components to design their electronic system:
- Pi4 Compute Module
- Pi4 Compute Module I/O Board
- DISPLAY, ALPHANUMERIC, 20X4
- IP68 Enclosure, clear top
- RF Antenna, WiFi, BLE, Thread, Wireless Hart, Zigbee
- Circular Connector, Cable Mount Receptacle, 4 Contacts
- Circular Connector, Cable Mount Plug, 4 Contacts
- Circular Connector, Panel Mount Receptacle, 4 Contacts
Participants will be able to test their systems by simulating extreme environmental factors using water sprays, vibrations, dust, impact and other forces that mimic what electronics are exposed to outdoors.
Applications are open until March 8, 2024. Once selected, participants have until May 18, 2024 to conduct their experiments and submit a detailed summary blog post. Participants can earn extra points by publishing up to five extra blog posts by May 17, 2024. Winners will be announced in May 2024.
The grand prize winner will receive a Fluke Thermal Imager as well as a Multicomp Pro Bench Power Supply, the runner-up will receive an Analog Discovery Pro 3000 Series: Portable High Resolution Mixed Signal Oscilloscope, third place will receive a Solder Pot and a Rachet Crimp Tool Kit both from Multicomp Pro and other finishers of the challenge will receive a Tiny ML Kit from Arduino.
To learn more about the Experimenting with Extreme Environments Challenge and to enter the competition, please visit https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/design-challenges/experimenting-with-extreme-environments/.