ARM Microcontroller Design Contest in cooperation with

Technology entrepreneurs can now compete for a $10,000 prize fund in a contest to create a smart domestic or industrial device based on an ARM Cortex-M processor. The competition will run from March to June 2015 and will showcase just how quickly products can be designed by utilizing ARM CMSIS software components and middleware.

The goal is to create a device fulfilling any function in areas such as home automation, measurement, the Internet of Things or system control. Contest participants will receive professional software development tools, a debug unit, hardware containing an ARM Cortex-M4 processor-based microcontroller and peripheral components. The competitors can choose platforms provided by Freescale, Infineon, NXP or STMicroelectronics.

Final prototype designs for the ARM Microcontroller Design Contest must be submitted by June 30, 2015. The winners will be announced in October 2015, with five prizes awarded from $500 to $5000.
Registration is closed.

ARM Connected Community Design Contest Forum

Watch the video introduction:

Hardware Platform Choices

The FRDM-K64F board with its Arduino-compatible connector gives engineers an easy, robust, and expandable platform.

Kinetis 64F MCU (120 MHz, 1 MB Flash, 256 KB RAM)
Connectors:
- RJ45 (Ethernet)
- microSD card slot
- USB OTG
- Arduino R3
Peripherals:
- Accelerometer and magnetometer
- RGB LED
- Two push buttons

The XMC45000 Relax Kit enables industrial control applications that utilize USB or TCP/IP networking and a file system.

XMC4500 MCU (120 MHz,
1 MB ECC Flash, 160 KB RAM, T_A=125 ºC)
Connectors:
- RJ45 (Ethernet)
- microSD card slot
- USB Device
Peripherals:
- 32 Mbit Quad-SPI Flash
- Two LEDs
- Two push buttons

The LPC4330-Xplorer Kit with its dual-core microcontroller is the choice for audio processing and audio streaming.

LPC4330 MCU (204 MHz, Dual-Core, 264 KB RAM, 8MB off-chip Flash)
Connectors:
- RJ45 (Ethernet)
- microSD card slot
- 2 x USB OTG
Peripherals:
- Audio codec and audio jacks
- Two LEDs
- Push button

The STM32F429 Discovery Kit with graphic display and motion sensors is suitable for any general-purpose embedded application.

STM32F429 MCU (168 MHz,
2 MB Flash, 256 KB RAM)
Connectors:
- USB OTG
Peripherals:
- 2.4" QVGA TFT LCD
- 64 Mbit SDRAM
- Motion sensor and gyroscope
- Two LEDs
- Push button

Software Development Tool and Software Components

Participants will receive a complementary license for the ARM Keil^® MDK-Professional Edition, the industry-leading software development environment for Cortex-M based microcontrollers. Competitors can use proven pre-built software components such as CMSIS, RTOS, communication stack, file system, graphical user interface to accelerate software development. Developers may also add hardware components and use standardized CMSIS-Drivers, for example to utilize communication interfaces such as I²C, SPI and USART.

Components selection

LogoWE300px Würth Elektronik, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of electronic and electromechanical components, is offering free parts for all contest participants. By sponsoring the contest, Würth Elektronik allows participants to design the most efficient boards and present their innovative solutions. Accepted entrants can request power and filter inductors, wireless charging coils, capacitors, LEDs and connectors. Check out www.we-online.com for details about the portfolio.

Template Applications

To have an easy start, we have created four template applications that can be used as a reference for creating your own project. Although each template project is available for a certain development board only, it is an easy task to migrate it to one of the other boards as well (if the hardware requirements are met):

Touch Screen Display