Later in the year, an expert jury will evaluate the projects and supporters will have the chance to vote on their preferred submissions. The winning teams will get their hands on a zenon party worth 1000 Euros, a tablet with a Windows 8 operating system and a Sony Action Cam.
Looking back: zenon Challenge 2012
The first zenon Challenge, in 2012, was won by the Polish team of SYNERGY who were able to convince the expert jury and many fans with their SynergyRGB project. They presented a sophisticated project with the creation of a bird-shaped robot that collected balls and assigned them to particular containers according to their color.
Second place went to EDAG Production Solutions from Germany who enthralled with their A.W.E.S.O.M.E. project, an MES-controlled autonomous transport system.
zenon Challenge 2014
The zenon Challenge 2014 began at the beginning of April. The participants have until September to implement their ideas into functioning projects and win over the public and jury with their solution. Competition entry requires various steps: Find ideas – build and engineer solution (robot) - create short video of project – upload video – impress voters and gain points.
Three factors contribute to a good score: Firstly, the jury needs to be convinced. They evaluate according to creativity, usability and the engineering. Their opinion makes up 40% of the total evaluation. Another 40% is generated from the public, who can vote for their favorite projects online. The teams can gain the remaining 20% by reaching further predefined "Steps to Success".
Every vote counts
The voters play a very special part in the zenon Challenge. They offer the necessary backing, encouragement and also have as much weight in the evaluation as the jury. Those who can inspire with exciting project videos have a strong advantage in the competition.
The winning teams of 2012 also managed to gain most of the 10,000 votes and thereby stayed ahead in the total evaluation. Attractive prizes such as LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 kits await a few lucky registered voters too.
In the course of the next few months the teams will develop their solutions, post videos, win fans with the first glimpses of their projects, and try to keep their competitors at a distance. Details for participants, fans and any undecided would-be voters can be found at: www.zenon-challenge.com.
Image caption:
The zenon Challenge jury is looking forward to innovative, user-friendly and creative project presentations: (from left to right) Lisette Lillo Fagerstedt, Partner Program Manager at COPA-DATA, Gero Gruber, Screen & Interaction Designer at COPA-DATA and Markus Wintersteller, Senior Consultant at COPA-DATA