Microwave Journal
www.microwavejournal.com/articles/18141-stmicroelectronics-launches-2012-inemo-design-contest

STMicroelectronics launches 2012 iNEMO Design Contest

August 24, 2012

STMicroelectronics, a global semiconductor leader and Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) manufacturer, has launched the 2012 iNEMO Design Contest. The contest invites final-year engineering students from the National University of Singapore and the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) to develop innovative applications using ST’s iNEMO® smart multi-sensor technology.

The iNEMO is an evaluation and development tool that offers up to 10 degrees of freedom, using combinations of 3-axis linear acceleration, 3-axis angular rate and 3-axis motion sensing through a magnetic field, together with barometric/altitude readings, managed by an STM32 32-bit microcontroller.

The iNEMO Design Contest will run in parallel to the final-year project of participating students. ST will sponsor the iNEMO boards, documentation, software drivers, and technical support, as well as cover third-party costs for the projects. The students will submit their projects to the contest for judging in May 2013. The contest offers a top prize of SGD10,000 to the winning team, evaluated on functionality, practicality, implementation, creativity, presentation and final demonstration.

“Sensing technology has enabled your smartphone to know your movements and is the technology responsible for the physical excitement of motion-based video games,” said Patrick Boulaud, STMicroelectronics Regional Vice President, Analog, MEMS and Sensor, Greater China and South Asia Region. “Sensors have the potential to augment many aspects of human and technology interaction, particularly in quality-of-life enhancement. We are challenging these students to think out-of-the-box and create new applications in lifestyle, recreation, healthcare and wellness, using the most advanced sensor technology available today.”

“Advanced sensor technologies are important in enhancing the apps we have in all our personal devices,” said Prof Loh Ai Poh, Deputy Head of the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore. “This contest is a great opportunity for our students to use leading-edge sensors to design creative apps that improve our interaction with the physical world.”

“At NTU, we want our students to be able to apply their scientific knowledge and engineering expertise to design and build innovative products for real-world applications,” said Prof. Cheng Tee Hiang, the Acting Chair of the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. “Students using ST’s award-winning iNEMO smart multi-sensor technology in their projects will now have the opportunity to pit their skills against other talented teams. Great innovations are usually developed in a competitive environment, so we see this contest as a good platform to raise the bar for our students in a fun but challenging way.”