Award for Best Use of WDC’s Embedded Intelligence Technology
Description: The Worldwide Mensch EIT Award for Best Use of WDC’s Embedded Intelligence Technology (EIT) Award is an annual award that recognizes the engineering innovation team that best integrates any WDC EIT product (in board or chip form) into a potential commercial product that was developed in a senior design project. Specifically, the award will be granted to a student team that has built a smart connected prototype that may have a commercial market. Embedded Intelligence is characterized as the ability of a product to sense, process, communicate, and actuate (SPCA) based upon information gained from understanding of both itself and others and for the benefit of many. Preference will be given to designs with SPCA capabilities that can demonstrably surpass human abilities to perform the same function.
Background: Embedded Intelligence (EI) is defined and used here to include the combination of software and micro-processing hardware used in Industry 4.0 and beyond Embedded Systems, Intelligent Systems and/or characterized as having Artificial Intelligence. Application specific embedded intelligence is used in a wide range of solutions in products like microwave ovens, refrigerators, pacemakers, smartphones, automobiles, robots, drones, and airplanes. The most common feature of these products, which fall into the category of “Internet of Things (IoT)” is that they communicate with each other (increasingly through what is described as “cloud services,” which constitutes a higher level of intelligence).
Self-Nomination Requirements: In order to self-nominate, the design team is required to visit The Bill and Dianne Mensch Foundation, Inc. website at TheMenschFoundation.org which promotes richer computer science and engineering education. There they will gain a better understanding of the concepts associated with embedded intelligence.
A 1-2 page self-nomination document must be submitted by email to “Award at WesternDesignCenter.com”. The document should include a brief description of what was sensed, processed, communicated, and actuated in the system designed in the project. All WDC EIT products must be identified. In addition, in keeping with entrepreneurial aspects of the Award, the document must include a statement on the innovative value of the designed system to mankind.
The following 6 questions need to be answered in the Justification section of the self-nomination form:
- Market identification for name of product first introduced on date.
- WDC EIT used in the product.
- Prototype/developer model sales price.
- Prototype/developer model unit sales volume to date.
- Projected production sales price.
- Projected production annual unit sales
Prize: Prize amount is $1,000.