Let’s talk about creativity with the contestants

chunyang

Let’s talk about creativity with the contestants [Copy link]

 

This was originally a reply, but I think I'd better post it separately. Everyone is welcome to discuss it.

Creativity does not necessarily need to be complicated or profound. The most important thing is that it is novel and can solve problems in life.

For example, in the contest database (http://edm.eeworld.com.cn/ON_Avnet_Contest_2020_2021_DesignContestPresentation_20201118.pdf), there is a home lighting wall switch remote control. The function is extremely simple, just turning the light on and off, that's all. However, the design cleverly uses the ultra-low power consumption characteristics of RSL10. The remote control does not use batteries, but uses the energy of pressing the switch to generate electricity. This insignificant energy is used to make RSL10 issue remote control commands to turn the light on and off. Because there is no need for batteries, the remote control can be used for a long time, so you don't have to worry about changing batteries or charging. This solves practical problems in life and is a very good and practical idea.

EEWorld has held many creative DIY competitions in the past years. Many entries are very complex, and some are very sophisticated, but they all have a common problem - they fail to effectively solve real problems in life. This is probably related to the way engineers think. They are used to accepting tasks but are not very good at or even willing to observe life. In addition, their thinking is often too linear. They only see technology, and they pursue technology for the sake of technology, or even show off their skills. Some ideas are too unrealistic and seriously lack feasibility. They are not capable of completing them, so they cannot be completed and eventually become "unfinished projects." Here, I actually suggest that you only consider one question - will you continue to use your creative work after the competition? If you can, it is a good idea, regardless of the technical difficulty.

Let's take the above remote control switch as an example. If this is my idea, because it is DIY, there is no need to consider mass production. I will disassemble a press-to-generate flashlight, use its power generation component, and then use a pair of RSL10-COIN-GEVB boards, one for sending and one for receiving. Find a small plush toy, use waste PCB or something like that as a structural support to fix the power generation component and the board, connect a resistor between the power generation component and the board, and then connect a 3V voltage regulator and a small electrolytic capacitor to the ground, and stuff the whole thing into the belly of the plush toy. When using it, pinch the belly of the toy to turn on the light, and pinch it again to turn off the light. The receiving part is installed in the wall mount, and the electricity is stolen in series. The software uses the Bluetooth protocol stack code provided by the official website of ON Semiconductor. It is enough to add a few lines to realize the state flip of an IO, and then add a transistor to trigger the thyristor to control the switch of the light. Measuring the overall workload, a week of spare time is enough, and the bulk is placed on process structure design and material search. In this way, the work is useful and practical, and will naturally be used for a long time. I hope to see more and more works of this kind. It doesn’t matter how difficult it is, what matters most is whether it is practical.

chunyang

I suggest that those who are interested in participating in the competition should show your ideas before submitting your application. At least I can be your advisor and we can discuss and improve together. After all, improving yourself through activities is the most valuable thing. It doesn't matter if you have already applied. You should be able to submit multiple ideas or modify the ideas you have submitted. I believe the staff of the website will not mind the extra statistical workload.

soso

chunyang posted on 2020-11-23 17:57 I suggest that friends who are interested in participating in the competition should show your creativity before formally submitting your application. At least I can be your advisor, and everyone can also...

The support is awesome.

chunyang

Netizens who are interested in participating in the competition are welcome to post comments and discuss. Don't worry about "secrets leaking out". The judges are not stupid! In addition, please discuss openly and refuse any private contact, especially if you want something ready-made. That is unfair to other contestants. Since it is a competition, it must be fair, just and open. Open discussion will not only prevent your ideas from being imitated by others, but on the contrary, it will enrich your creative details and improve feasibility through discussion, which is beneficial and harmless. However, closed-door development and unfinished projects are very harmful to improving one's own technical ability. The competition is first of all a great learning opportunity to improve one's own technical ability. There are also rich learning resources and rewards. The cost-effectiveness is very high and the opportunity is rare, especially for the majority of beginners. If you want to achieve good learning results, don't be afraid of "showing your embarrassment". Surpassing yourself is the greatest gain.