element14.com, an Avnet community, has announced the winners of its most recent community challenge, encouraging female engineers to create an electronic project video in the style of the increasingly popular element14 Presents series. The Grand Prize winner is Surbhika Rastogi from Uttar Pradesh, India, who created an informative video for making an automatic soap/sanitizer dispenser system.
Rastogi used an Arduino UNO, IR sensor and pump made with bottle caps and a motor lifted from an RC car, to make this innovative dispensing system that offers a contact-free way to reduce the spread of germs during the pandemic. Other winners represent a wide array of experience, skillsets and geographies, ranging from women with PhDs and Masters Degrees to those who are self-taught designers.
Entries included directions for a light up “cycling shrug” by a costume designer from western Missouri to help cyclists stand out on the road at night, a robot vacuum created by a college student in Sydney, Australia and a smartboard alarm created by a master’s student in northern Italy that signals when food is about to expire. Everyone who participated in this challenge is eligible to become a paid content producer for the element14 Community and contribute to the series of element14 Presents videos shared every Wednesday and Friday.
Launched during Women’s History Month in March, the contest sought to highlight female designers and engineers creating innovative works. Each of the top ten winners received $500 for their submissions, and the Grand Prize winner received a digital camera kit for producing high-quality videos worth $1,800.
For more information visit www.element14.com