element14 launches "Sci-Pi Design Challenge" to celebrate Pi Day

element14 launches "Sci-Pi Design Challenge" to celebrate Pi Day

Competition encourages engineers and makers to use Raspberry Pi to support scientists' experimental projects

Shanghai, China, March 14, 2023 – Farnell, a global distributor of electronic components products and solutions under Avnet, celebrates Pi Day by launching the "Sci-Pi Design Challenge" through its online community. The challenge encourages global makers, designers and engineers to use Raspberry Pi to develop innovative applications to help solve the problems faced by scientists and laboratories.

Dianne Kibbey, global head of community and social media at element14 , said: “Raspberry Pi has long been a source of creative design inspiration for our community members. On Pi Day, we are hosting the ‘Sci-Pi Design Challenge’ to inspire the creativity of our community members and help scientists solve their pain points.”

Contestants can register now. 25 finalists will be selected from the competition and will receive a free Challenger Kit to build their design projects , including a Raspberry Pi 4 Model B single-board computer. The Raspberry Pi 4 Model B is the latest in the popular Raspberry Pi series of computers. Compared with its predecessor, the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+, this latest version of the Raspberry Pi series has a breakthrough improvement in processor speed, multimedia performance, memory and interfaces. It uses the Broadcom BCM2711 quad-core Cortex-A72 (ARM v8) 64-bit SoC, running at a frequency of 1.5GHz, and is equipped with 4GB of LPDDR4 SDRAM, True Gigabit Ethernet and 2 Micro HDMI ports, supporting up to 4K 60Hz video output.

In addition to the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B, entrants may also use any other product in the Raspberry Pi family.

The entries in this challenge will be used to support scientists' experimental projects. Entries may involve:

• Raspberry Pi open source logging system

• Raspberry Pi Home Lab

• Remote experiments based on low-cost computers

• Use Raspberry Pi to build IoT interfaces for old lab equipment

The deadline for entries is April 15, and the shortlist will be announced on April 21. All entrants are required to publish at least five blog posts on the element14 website describing their project development process. The first prize winner will receive an automatic tracking high-definition telescope valued at $2,000, and the runner-up will receive a 4K digital microscope. Each entrant will receive a precision screwdriver set as a finisher's prize. The winners will be announced in June 2023.

To participate in the Sci-Pi Design Challenge and learn more, visit element14’s official website.