We challenge you to design something wireless that connects to something else. Simple.

If it connects to something and it’s wireless, it's eligible. It doesn't need to connect to the internet- get creative: local systems, WiFi, Bluetooth, BLE, and your very own protocol are all in the running.

Nowadays it seems that if something can be connected to the internet, it will be connected to the internet. We’ve seen everything from WiFi enabled refrigerators, to laundry machines and cat laser pointers, but we also know there’s plenty left to be explored.

We’re asking you to imagine: if you could give anything connection capability, what would it be? Your device could monitor its surroundings with a sensor and could send information to tell you when animals are sneaking into your garden (with or without internet). It could be a device that starts the coffee maker while you’re sleeping or a communication device to talk to space. The possibilities are endless.

If you want to go the Internet of Things route, there are many free IoT dashboards and platforms to help you work with your internet devices and data, such as Adafruit IO, Digi-Key’s IoT Studio, ThingsBoard, and thinger.io. For a non-cloud solution, you could check out this article describing how to setup a Docker environment for use with a Raspberry Pi.

Examples of eligible projects

Zero Phone by Arsenijs

NPR New Packet Radio by f4hdk

DIY Airboat and Controller by CompuCat

Awards And Prizes

The top 30 ideas will win a coupon for a free PCB (up to $25 value) from OSHpark.

The top 4 ideas in the following categories will win a $100 Tindie gift certificate:

Best Project
Best Aesthetic Design
Best Documentation
Best Social Media Picture or Video

You can post a picture or video of your device, of you working on your device, or anything related on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, or any other social platform. You must post a link to the video in the comments on this page.

How To Enter

Show us your best connected invention idea and document it as a new project on Hackaday.io. Once you have published your project, look in the right sidebar for the "Submit project to..." menu in order to enter it in the "Connected World Contest".

Make it easy for others to order your board by uploading and sharing your project on OSH Park. Here is how to do it: https://blog.oshpark.com/2017/06/05/how-to-share-your-project/.

Judging Criteria

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. That said, here are some criteria judges will have in mind while reviewing entries:

Creativity: Is the concept interesting and unique?
Execution: Have you built something with attention to detail in solder joints, wire bends, etc.?
Functionality: Is the circuit minimally functional? Does it go beyond the basics in an impressive way?
Backstory: How well has the story been shared about how this was conceived and built?

Connected World Contest Rules:

Contest runs 7AM PDT on Tuesday, June 18th, 2019 through 7AM PDT Tuesday, September 10, 2019.
To qualify for entry into the contest, you will need to add a project image or system diagram and a description to your project page on Hackaday.io.
Sharing schematics, source code, and/or design files is highly encouraged (but not required). These are a big part of "backstory" and helping us understand your entry.
Projects that were entered in previous Hackaday contests and won a prize of any kind (a $100 gift certificate is a prize) are eligible for submission as entries in this challenge with the following restrictions:

A new project page must be created
The project must be significantly different from when previously entered. Show what makes it unique for this contest.