TechInsights Announces Top 32 Designs Microchip PIC32 Design ChallengeInnovative, social-networking community for engineers worldwide has generated more than 4,500 community members; Total prize value of more than $200,000PRNewswire BOSTON, Oct. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Today at the Embedded Systems Conference, TechInsights announced the top 32 designs that will continue on to Phase 3 of the Microchip PIC32 Design Challenge (http://www.mypic32.com/), a year-long contest and community sponsored by Microchip Technology Inc. and Digi-Key Corporation, the exclusive distributor. More than 4,500 community members rated and voted to select the top designs in this international competition. The total value of prizes throughout the contest exceeds $200,000. To review the top 32 designs, visit http://www.mypic32.com/web/guest/contestants. The objective of the four-phase Design Challenge is to foster a social community where designers can build, test and display their designs using blogs, videos and forums. The interactive community is made of up of community members and contestants. Registered members of the community have the ability to rate and vote on each contestant's design according to the design value criteria, post blogs and participate in the member forums. Members can also post comments and suggestions in the contestant blogs and profiles to help them advance their designs. Each week, community members are eligible for prizes based on their participation and activity within the community. The first phase of the contest generated 396 abstracts, of which 126 designs were selected to develop their hardware for Phase 2. Now, the Top 32 contestants will move on to Phase 3 to complete their software design. These contestants will receive a PIC32 prize package, which includes a full MPLAB® C Compiler for PIC32 MCUs, a MPLAB Real ICE™ In-circuit Emulator, and a MPLAB Real ICE Trace Kit valued at over $1,700. Contestants of the Design Challenge rely on Microchip's PIC32 Starter Kit, an easy to use, all-in-one, module ($49 value) based on the high performance Microchip PIC32 32-bit Microcontroller. A set of three industry expert judges, as well community members, will vote to see who "survives" and wins prizes that help contestants continue their competition. The winner will receive a home theater system valued at $8,000 and a trip to ESC Silicon Valley 2009 March 31 - April 2, 2009 (http://www.cmp-egevents.com/web/esv/home). "Watching the designs evolve from an abstract in Phase 1 to designing the hardware in Phase 2 was fun to say the least. It was nice to 'meet' the contestants and get to know them better as they were posting video blogs and sharing ideas with the community along the way," said Richard Nass, Editor in Chief of Embedded Systems Design and Challenge judge. "Selecting 32 contestants to move on to the next phase was very difficult, because the 126 designs chosen in Phase 2 were so creative and the community members were so passionate about their favorite designs." Terry West, PIC32 Marketing Manager at Microchip agrees. "The personal aspect of this challenge is so unique. We've seen the contestants' share their frustrations, excitement and innovation in the forums. We've watched their designs progress in their videos. We've read their blogs... and we've cheered for them along the way! The community has also been so supportive in helping contestants when they needed it. I'm very proud to be involved with such a great community and can't wait to see how the Top 32 evolve in Phase 3." "This phase certainly challenged the contestants to not only design the hardware for their design, but market them to gain community votes. The contestants did a wonderful job building enthusiasm in the engineering community around their projects. I commend them all on a job well done," added Scott Wing, Director of Technical Support at Digi-Key. For contest rules and eligibility requirements, visit http://www.mypic32.com/. About TechInsights TechInsights is the daily source of essential business and technical information for the electronics industry's decision makers - the Creators of Technology - that define, develop, and bring to market the electronic products that improve our lives. With global market leading brands such as EE Times, Semiconductor Insights, TechOnline, Embedded Systems Conferences and Portelligent, TechInsights is the leading dedicated information and services business serving the global electronics market. For more information, please visit http://www.techinsights.com/. About United Business Media Limited (http://www.unitedbusinessmedia.com/) United Business Media Limited (UBM) is a global media and marketing services company that informs markets and brings the world's buyers and sellers together at events, online, in print, and with the information they need to do business successfully. UBM serves professional and commercial communities, from IT professionals to doctors, from journalists to jewelry dealers, from farmers to pharmacists around the world. UBM employs more than 6,500 people in more than 30 countries. UBM's businesses operating in the US include CMPMedica, Commonwealth Business Media, Everything Channel, PR Newswire, RISI, TechInsights, TechWeb and Think Services. UBM is listed on the London Stock Exchange (UBM.L) and has a market capitalization of $2.5 billion. About Microchip Technology Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MCHP) is a leading provider of microcontroller and analog semiconductors, providing low-risk product development, lower total system cost and faster time to market for thousands of diverse customer applications worldwide. Headquartered in Chandler, Arizona, Microchip offers outstanding technical support along with dependable delivery and quality. For more information, visit the Microchip website at http://www.microchip.com/. About Digi-Key Corporation One of the world's fastest growing distributors of electronic components, Digi-Key has earned its reputation as an industry leader through its total commitment to service and performance. As a full-service provider of both prototype/design and production quantities of electronic components, Digi-Key has been ranked #1 for Overall Performance for 16 consecutive years from among the nation's more than 200 distributors (EE Times Distribution Study/ May 2007). Offering more than a million products from over 400 quality name-brand manufacturers Digi-Key's commitment to inventory is unparalleled. Access to the company's broad product offering is available 24/7 at Digi-Key's top-rated website, http://www.digikey.com/.
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SOURCE: TechInsights CONTACT: Alix Raine of United Business Media LLC, +1-516-562-7827, Web Site: http://www.cmp-egevents.com/web/esv/home Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/683681.html |