2009 Propeller Contest Project Submittal Rules
See the 2008 contest winners!
1. Project Number:
The issuance of a Project Number represents a commitment on your behalf to submit a project in the contest. Project Numbers will be issued until November 16, 2009 - EXTENDED TO JANUARY 29, 2010 at which time we will consider the contest closed to new entries.
2. Eligibility: Applicants should be at least 18 years old. If you are under 18 you will need to have your legal guardian fill out this consent form. Please note that if you wish to participate in this contest you need to take responsibility for your own involvement. Parallax Inc. reserves the right to pull any application at any time for any reason. Employees of Parallax Inc. are not eligible to enter the contest. International applicants are encouraged to submit their projects. Parallax Inc. disclaims any responsibility associated with your country's rules or conditions pertaining to entering contests, should they apply. If you are a winner in the contest and choose to receive Parallax Inc. product as your prize, you will be responsible for shipping charges and import taxes should they apply.
3. Submitting a Project: All project submittals must be made by e-mail only by December 1, 2009 - EXTENDED TO FEBRUARY 26, 2010 (12:00 AM, Pacific Standard Time). No hard copies will be accepted. Specifically, this is what we require for submitting a project:
- Project Report in MS Word format with the following sub-headings: Project Number, Project Description, Schematic, Block Diagram (if applicable), Source Code, Bill of Materials and Pictures. PDF is an acceptable substitute if the applicant is able to provide the original graphic files upon request so they may be posted on our web site. All documentation must be provided in clear English language. The project description should be one page or less. This would be the first attachment in the e-mail message.
- Source Code Well-formatted and documented code is required so the judges may develop a reasonable understanding of the functionality. This would be your second attachment in the e-mail message, zipped up if you have more than one file.
- Pictures Submit between three and six different digital photographs of your project, electronics and project in use. Submit at least one photograph of the project designer holding the project. Provide the photos in high-resolution format; Parallax Inc. will make any lower-resolution photos for web or print use. MPEG or WMF-formatted videos may also be submitted if the project involves motion. All pictures and videos would be your third attachment to the e-mail, zipped up into a single file. Videos and/or a working prototype are suggested for highly complex entries.
Multiple e-mail messages may be submitted if file sizes are a problem. The judges may request the submittal of the physical project you designed. Judges may also request clarification of specific project details.
4. Judging: The following judges will assess the submittals:
- Lauren Davis, Marketing Manager at Parallax Inc.
- Jeff Martin, Software Engineer at Parallax Inc.
- David Carrier, Process Technician at Parallax Inc.
- Andy Lindsay, Engineer and Author of What's A Microcontroller at Parallax Inc.
5. Criteria: Projects will be judged according to the following factors:
- 30% Propeller Design Appropriateness Determined on applicant's ability to use the Propeller's unique architecture to achieve a working design. An entry which receives the highest mark in this category will utilize the Propeller to achieve a design not possible with a traditional microcontroller.
- 30% Originality Creativity of the project.
- 25% Professionalism This is based on the use of clear English in the Project Report, a quality design (if needed), clarity of explanations, quality of pictures and source code formatting/commenting.
- 15% Practicality Based on the project's usefulness.
6. Legal Considerations: Design submittals will remain the intellectual property of the applicants. Due to the open-project nature of the contest, applicants with submittals of particular commercial value should consider obtaining copyrights or patents. Applicants may copyright their submittals simply by putting a copyright (C) with the author's name and date within the code to provide some form of protection. All applicants grant Parallax Inc. non-exclusive web and print publication rights, whether they are selected as a winner or non-winning entrant. Parallax Inc. will post all Propeller Contest projects in entirety on our web site. Selected applications may also be published in print in our catalogs or books. By entering, applicants agree to release and hold harmless Parallax, Inc and any associates from any and all liability.
7. Prizes: Winners will be notified by January 1, 2010 - EXTENDED TO MARCH 31, 2010. Projects will be posted on the Parallax Inc. website by the end of April 2010. United States winners will receive a 1099 income tax form to report their winnings. The total prize money is $4,000. As an alternative to the cash prizes winners may choose to receive a commensurate value of any Parallax products. This is how the prize money will be distributed:
* Or the equivalent in Parallax products.