Microsoft announced more than $20,000 in prizes for a contest challenging academics, hobbyists, and developers to use Windows CE in a "fun and games" device. The "embedded SPARK 2010" contest includes a giveaway of 75 development boards, and culminates in a $15,000 grand prize, says Microsoft.

Similar to Microsoft's 2009 Sparks Will Fly contest -- see later in this story for background -- the embedded SPARK 2010 contest is designed to promote Windows Embedded CE 6.0. Open to any "Internet technology enthusiasts or specialists" who are at least 18 years old and not Microsoft employees, the content challenges entrants to create an embedded project that is related to the theme "fun and games."

Sample projects cited by the company include a game designed specifically for embedded devices, an interactive toy for children, or "a magic button that turns your house into a disco."

Launched at ESC Boston, the three-round competition officially began at noon EDT yesterday, and ends at 8 pm EDT on Apr. 2, 2010, according to Microsoft. The company explains the three rounds in the competition as follows:

• The website www.sparkcontest.com is now live. Contestants will have until Jan. 9, 2010 to use the site to submit a one- to three-page entry detailing a Windows CE-based project "that catches the eye and brings a smile to your face."
  
  
• On Jan. 15, 2009, Microsoft will announce 75 contestants chosen to participate in round two. In order to build their devices, each contestant will receive Windows CE 6.0 R2, Visual Studio 2005 Professional, and a target development board. They'll be required to submit a four- to eight-page paper describing their solution, along with a two-minute video, by Apr. 2, 2010.
  
  
• On Apr. 9, 2010, three finalists will be announced. Each will receive an "all-expense-paid" trip to ESC Silicon Valley (scheduled for Apr. 26 to 29), where they'll present their devices on stage during a Microsoft industry address. Conference attendees will have the opportunity to vote for first, second, and third-prize winners and award the finalists $15,000, $5,000 and $1,000 in prize money, respectively.

Scott Davis, senior marketing manager for Windows Embedded, stated "Windows Embedded is committed to driving the specialized devices of the future, and the embeddedSPARK 2010 Challenge provides an excellent opportunity for embedded developers to showcase their skills. We are enthusiastic to see the innovation that will result from this contest."

Background

Though renamed, the embeddedSPARK 2010 contest appears essentially similar to Microsoft's previous Sparks Will Fly contest, as mentioned earlier in this story. Sparks Will Fly launched in October 2008, asking contestants -- who, once again, could be anyone except full-time Microsoft employees -- to come up with a novel concept for Windows CE devices they'd like to see in the home of the future.

The finalists were, in alphabetical order:

• Doug Conn, with an intelligent medication dispenser project dubbed "The Smart Pill"
• Jason Hershkowitz, with a home control system dubbed the "Home Brain System"
• Scott Reed, with an intelligent picture frame dubbed the "Runcible Frame"

Doug Conn's "Smart Pill" device, shown below, is a medication dispenser designed to help elderly users, who must often take a mix of pills throughout the day. The prototype included a Via Artigo computer, a Lilliput touchscreen display, a barcode scanner, speaker, and seven LEDs driven by a Velleman K8055 I/O board, Conn wrote in his project description.


Doug Conn's "Smart Pill" prototype
(Click either to enlarge)

The "target development board" chosen for the embeddedSPARK 2010 contest has not yet been announced. In last year's Sparks Will Fly contest, however, 50 second-round contestants received Via's Artigo (below), a tiny PC based on Via's Epia PX10000 pico-ITX mainboard.

How the Artigo fits together
(Click to enlarge)
Compatible with both Windows CE and Windows XP Embedded, the Artigo has a 1GHz Via C7 processor, 10/100 Ethernet, a VGA port, four USB ports, and support for a 2.5-inch hard disk drive. Fully configured, the black-chassis system weighs 1.14 pounds and measures 5.9 x 4.3 x 1.8 inches.

Whether it again comes from Via or not, the hardware chosen for the embeddedSPARK 2010 contest will likely be selected from that already offered as part of Microsoft's Spark Your Imagination initiative, first launched in April 2008. In this program, Windows CE 6.0 R2 and Visual Studio 2005 Professional are bundled with selected hardware, then sold at a heavily discounted price to hobbyists, students, and academics. Microsoft's Spark Your Imagination web page currently lists Advantech, e-con, Icop, Keith and Koep GmbH, Special Computing, and Via as partners.

Like Sparks Will Fly before it, the embeddedSPARK 2010 contest has clearly been inspired by Microsoft's successful Imagine Cup, a Microsoft event designed for teams of three to four students and their faculty mentors. The yearly student contest is now in its eighth year.

The 2009 Imagine Cup, whose finals were held in Cairo, Egypt, featured a Windows CE-based "Embedded Development" section, with this year's first prize being won by a device that helps impoverished farmers raise stag beetles as food. In addition to the Embedded Development competition, the Imagine Cup included eight other categories, as follows:

• Software Design, where students create real-world software and services applications that use Microsoft tools and technology, such as the .NET Framework and Microsoft Windows
  
• Game Development, where students create a new game that uses Microsoft XNA Game Studio 3.0 and Microsoft Visual Studio
  
• Robotics and Algorithm, where students must navigate a series of brainteasers, code challenges and algorithmic puzzles
  
• IT Challenge, where students are challenged to develop, deploy and maintain IT systems that are elegant, functional, robust and secure
  
• MashUp, where students are challenged to create a new and useful Web 2.0 application using Microsoft's PopFly site
  
• Photography, where students communicate a story that "explores a critical issue through a photo essay of inspiring still images"
  
• Short Film, where students create an original short film and also "demonstrate excellence in filmmaking at all levels"
  
• Design, where students create an innovative design for easier-to-use machines that help improve human interactions

Further information

For more details about Microsoft's embeddedSPARK 2010 challenge, see the company's website, here. For more information about Microsoft's past embedded development contests, check out our previous coverage using the links below.

---

Related stories:

• Embedded student competition winner is buggy (on purpose)
• Microsoft picks finalists in student competition
  
• Student competition offers a different kind of fireworks
  
• Full speed ahead for Microsoft student competitions
  
• Medication dispenser wins "home of future" contest
  
• Microsoft picks "home of the future" finalists
  
• "Home of future" contest enters round two
  
• Microsoft launches Windows CE contest
  
• Microsoft unveils discounted Windows CE development bundles
  
• Embedded show includes pico-ITX PC giveaway
  
• Imagine Cup 2008 winners announced
  
• Microsoft student competition still open
  
• Brazil, Romania, China win Windows CE student contest
  
• A visit to the home of Bill Gates
  
• Microsoft details finalists in student competition
  
• Student competition finalists announced
  
• Microsoft announces hardware as student competition continues
  
• Review: DM&P/Icop eBox 4300
  
• World's smallest Windows XP system?
  
• Microsoft ups the ante in 2008 student competition
  
• Brazil, Romania, China win Windows CE student contest
  
• Low-cost kit "jump starts" Windows CE 6 development
  
• Windows CE student competition names finalists
  
• Student technology competition offers $170,000 in prizes
  
• Embedded Development student contest offers $15,000 in prizes
  
• Windows Embedded Student ChallengE 2006 -- winning projects
  
• Aussie watering system wins Windows Embedded ChallengE
  
• Windows CE Shared Source Contest winners announced

Discuss Microsoft launches embedded development contest   >>> Be the FIRST to comment on this article!

>>> More News Articles          >>> More By Jonathan Angel