Microsoft's Imagine Cup might not be the world's most widely viewed sporting event -- that would be the FIFA World Cup, now under way in South Africa. But, it's "the world's premier student technology competition," according to the company.
With finals planned for Warsaw, Poland from July 3 to 8, the Imagine Cup is now in its eighth year, challenging "young people to apply their imagination, their passion, and their creativity to bring to life technology innovations that can make a difference in the world."
Replacing a Windows Embedded Student Challenge run by Microsoft in the past, the Imagine Cup's key "Embedded Development" category asked teams of three or four competitors and a faculty mentor, to develop an entry addressing the 2010 competition theme, "Imagine a world where technology helps solve the toughest problems."
As previously announced, the winning teams will receive a free trip to Warsaw, where they'll present their devices, competing for a $25,000 first place prize, $10,000 second place prize, and $5,000 third place prize.
In the second round of the Embedded Development competition, which ended on May 21, 147 teams received Windows CE 6.0 R2 and Visual Studio 2005 Professional, along with DM&P's eBox-3310A-MSJK (right), a compact PC that includes a 1GHz MSTI PDX-600 (a version of DMP's Vortex86DX), 500MHz Via Eden processor, 256MB or 512MB of DDR2 RAM, and a Type II/II CompactFlash slot. Teams were free to add equipment or additional software, but use of Windows CE 6.0 R2 and the eBox was a required element in the competition.
Microsoft has now announced the 15 finalist teams, which we list in order of their countries, as follows:
- Brazil -- Team "T.M.D." from the University of Pernambuco in Recife created a project known as "Recycle Box," incorporating sensors that can identify every object in garbage as paper, plastic, glass, or metal
- Bulgaria -- Team "Krali Marko" from the Technical University of Sofia created a project called "The Green Monitor," designed to monitor an automobile's exhaust gases in real time
- China -- Team "Carbon Footprint" from the Huazhong University of Science and Technology created a system designed to help individuals monitor and reduce their carbon emissions
- France -- Team "Geras" (Geriatric Emergency Recognition and Assistance System), from ECE Paris, created a system designed to detect when an elderly person has fallen, including motion detectors and an "intelligent carpet"
- Germany -- Team "SmartTT" (Smart Transport Tracking) from the University of Applied Sciences in Heidelberg designed a system using RFID tags to track food, water, and medical supplies for areas in crisis
- India -- Team "Wizminds" from the Manav Rachna Colledge of Engineering in Faridabad created an unmanned, robotic "Wizitank" for use by the military and police
- Indonesia -- Team "Tselina" from the Bandung Institute of Technology created a system designed as a platform for education applications, including those written using Silverlight or Flash
- Japan -- Team "CLFS" from the Tokyo National College of Technology created a device known as the "Electronic Maternal and Child Healthcare Handbook," incorporating a "simple" medical checkup system
- Korea -- Team "RU Gentle" from Inha University created a device described only as being designed to ensure environmental sustainability
- Romania -- Team "EcoSynthesis" from the University of Timisoara created a device called ECoMAP (Energy Control, Monitoring, Analysis and Predictability System), designed to survey energy usage in a building and then offer predictions and suggestions about how to achieve savings
- Russia -- The team hails from the Moscow City Pedagogical University (MCPU), but no details of its project were made available
- Taiwan -- Team "SmarterME" from the National Chiao Tung University created a system claimed to monitor the power consumption of individual home or office appliances while requiring only one centralized meter
- Thailand -- Team "SuperLove Factory" from King Mongkut's University of Technology in Thonburi created a "Braille Eye Project" designed to render real-time images in a form the blind can touch and feel
- United Kingdom -- Team "eyeSight," actually consisting solely of Kevin Pfister from the University of York, created an augmented reality system for blind and partially sighted people, incorporating visual, tactile, and audio interfaces and even a connection to the cloud
- United States -- Team "Vaccine" from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock created a system designed to effectively record and track immunizations in developing countries
Other categoriesIn addition to Embedded Development, the Imagine Cup also includes the following other categories:
- 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 Design, where students create a new game that uses Microsoft XNA Game Studio 3.0, Visual Studio, and/or Silverlight
- Digital Media, where students create a web video submission related to the contest's theme
- IT Challenge, where students describe an architecture and method of implementation of a Microsoft networking environment
In addition, this year Microsoft added six "Awards" to the Imagine Cup competition, providing entrants with prizes that were to be awarded in advance of the finals in Warsaw. It was possible to win one of these awards, all of which related to software, without being entered in any of the categories listed above, according to the company.The six Award categories were as follows:
- Envisioning 2020
- Internet Explorer 8
- Interoperability
- Next-generation web
- Touch and tablet accessibility
- Windows Phone 7 Rockstar
When it
announced the Windows Phone 7 Rockstar award in March, Microsoft said three teams would win awards, including a Windows Phone 7 device for each team member, plus first, second, and third prize awards of $8,000, $4,000, and $3,000, respectively. First place teams would also get a paid trip to the Imagine Cup finals in Warsaw, the company said.
Teams were to create Windows Phone 7 applications using either Silverlight or XNA. The applications "need to be designed with the consumer in mind and should be as visually compelling as possible," Microsoft said, adding that entrants should "be prepared to demonstrate your team's app entry running on an actual Windows Phone 7 device or in an emulator."
Windows Phone 7 Rockstar winners
Now, winners have been announced for the Windows Phone 7 Rockstar contest, which ended on May 24. Some 131 teams submitted applications, many of them "really outstanding," according to a posting on the Windows Phone Developer Blog.
Microsoft says the first-place winner is team "Beastware" from the Advanced Technologies Academy (presumed to be the school in Las Vegas, though this was not specified). Scheduled to receive $8,000 and a trip to Warsaw, the team created a XNA-based game called "Droid" (below left), leveraging the use of a phone's accelerometer.
Windows Phone 7 Rockstar winners included a "Droid" game (left) and Manga reader (right)
The second-place winner, receiving a $4,000 prize, is team "Tselina" from the Bandung Institute of Technology in Indonesia. The team built a "slick-looking comic book reader" (above right) in Silverlight, Microsoft says.
The third-place winner, receiving a $3,000 prize, is the "Hypo Team" from the Tunku Abdul Rahman College in Malaysia. The team used XNA to create a game with "great graphics and a very clean interface," according to the Windows Phone Developer Blog posting by product manager Anand Iyer.
Further information
For more details of Microsoft's Imagine Cup 2010 and student contests, see the company's website, here. Information specifically about the Embedded Development category and the finalists listed above may be found here.
Anand Iyer's posting on the Windows Phone Developer Blog about Windows Phone 7 Rockstar winners may be found here.
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