RS Components announces Bluetooth IoT design competition in partnership with Cypress Semiconductor

Now open for design idea submissions, ‘Make With Mesh’ contest is based around new leading-edge Bluetooth development boards from Cypress

RS Components (RS), the trading brand of Electrocomponents plc (LSE: ECM), a global multi-channel provider of industrial and electronic products and solutions, today announced ‘Make With Mesh’, a new design challenge based around IoT Bluetooth technologies, in partnership with Cypress Semiconductor, a world-leading semiconductor maker and embedded solutions provider.

The competition challenges creative minds to see what kind of projects they can come up with based around one, or both, or even multiple units of Cypress’ new Bluetooth IoT boards, specifically the: EZ-BT™ Bluetooth Mesh Development Kit and the CYW20819 Bluetooth 5.0 Arduino Evaluation Board, both of which are now shipping from RS.

 

These two boards provide an enviable range of capabilities required for advanced IoT design, including ultra-low-power consumption and full support for Bluetooth Mesh. This latter technology has the potential to revolutionise the way IoT devices interact and exchange data in networks across smart home, industrial and healthcare applications, among many others. Cypress offers a leading position in this emerging technology with the industry’s first SIG-compliant Bluetooth Mesh Solution.

 

In the first phase of the competition, which is now open until 7th June, entrants are expected to provide: a brief description of idea or project; which of the kits are being proposed for the project, i.e. the Mesh kit or the Arduino Eval Board or both; the Bluetooth technology to be used including BLE, Mesh, or Classic, or multiple technologies; plus some detail on how users will interact with the project, for example, via a mobile app or cloud dashboard.

 

In the second phase of the contest, which will run from 21st June to 2nd August, free Cypress development kits will be provided to 25 selected submissions from the first phase. However, participants who do not have their synopsis chosen, or miss the initial phase of the competition, can still participate in phase two using their own kits. This second stage will eventually require participants to submit an article on DesignSpark with a completed overview of the project, including project documentation, a list of materials, code, and block diagrams.

 

The winner of the challenge will receive a £500 shopping basket of products available from RS, along with £120 worth of Cypress products. There will also be two runners-up prizes worth up to £120 of Cypress products that are available in stock at RS. Final project judging will take place after 2nd August with the winning entries expected to be announced in mid-August.

 

Full details of the competition, plus its terms and conditions, are available at: www.rs-online.com/designspark/cypress-bluetooth-5-0-iot-design-contest, where entrants are also invited to post their submissions.

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