The Future of Smart Home and Office is Here!

The challenge

We’re heading toward an amazing future, where everything will be able to talk to each other. Here in the present though, when building that future, it can be difficult to find the right board to build it with. You have to consider the programming language, number of pins available, protocols supported, robustness of wireless options, and much more, and trying to optimize for all of these factors can get tiresome. Thankfully, MediaTek Labs have provided the MediaTek LinkIt™ Smart 7688 platform to solve this problem.

Interested? To get you started, we're giving away 100 LinkIt™ Smart 7688 Duo HDK development boards to the top 100 ideas submitted by Oct 30, 2016!

The LinkIt Smart 7688

The MediaTek LinkIt™ Smart 7688 platform provides hardware development kits (HDKs) that you can use to create proof-of-concept IoT devices. The platform delivers two HDKs – the LinkIt Smart 7688 and the LinkIt Smart 7688 Duo. This contest focuses on the LinkIt Smart 7688 Duo that runs the popular open source OpenWrt operating system (often used on wireless routers), on the MT7688AN SOC. That powerful base means that you can build device applications for the LinkIt Smart 7688 Duo in several different languages, including Python, Node.JS, and C. Plus, with its onboard ATMEGA32U4 MCU, you can even use the Arduino IDE for programming!

This little board has pins for I2C, SPI, SPIS, UART, PWM, and ethernet, and it supports USB host mode, so you can plug in all sorts of USB peripherals. Like many other boards, it also has built-in WiFi, but with a generous 32MB of built-in flash storage and 128MB of DDR2 RAM, it has enough memory and packet storage for robust video processing! How's that for powerful? And if your project requires even more storage, there’s a built in MicroSD card slot that supports up to Class 10 SDXC cards.

YOUR IDEAS

In this contest, we want to see your awesome projects that use the LinkIt™ Smart 7688 Duo to build amazing internet connected devices.

To get you started, we're giving away 100 LinkIt™ Smart 7688 Duo HDK development boards to the top 100 ideas submitted by Oct 30, 2016.

So pitch us your ideas! Should your coffee maker should talk to your toaster? Should your closet, know the weather, and recommend your clothes for the day? Maybe your dog’s collar should vibrate when you’re on your way home from work? We want to see what you think the future will look like!

FEATURES

• Ÿ580 MHz MIPS CPU

• Single input single output(1T1R) Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n (2.4G)

• Pin-out for GPIO, I2C, SPI, SPIS, UART, PWM and Ethernet Port

• 32MB Flash and 128MB DDR2 RAM

• USB host

• Micro SD slot

• Support for Arduino (ATmega32U4)

READY TO GET STARTED?

CHECK OUT our getting started webinar with MediaTek:

• How to develop smart home and office applications using the MediaTek LinkIt™ Smart 7688 platform [RECORDING]

Here’s how to participate in the contest:

1. Create a free Hackster account

2. Register to participate in the contest

3. If you didn't win a free board, you can buy one from Seeed Studio

3. Design, build, and document your project

4. Submit your project on this contest page

Guidelines for submitting your project:

• Build your project using the LinkIt™ Smart 7688 Duo HDK

• Document your project using the hackster project template

• Describe your project with plenty of details: What are you creating? What does it do? Why does it matter?

• Add your project to the contest by clicking on “Add my Project”

• When your project is complete, submit it by clicking on “Submit to Contest”

Submit your project by Mar 26, 2017 .

Your Project Documentation should include:

• Story and quality images;

• Clear instructions;

• BOM and schematics;

• Source code;

• CAD files if relevant

• All project submissions must use the LinkIt™ Smart 7688 Duo HDK

• All projects should be relevant to the theme of the contest

Here are some resources you may find useful:

LinkIt™ Smart 7688 Duo HDK is fully supported on the MediaTek Labs site: check out the LinkIt section and register here to download the SDK, participate in the Forums, and more.

If you didn't win a free board, don't worry, you can still participate in the contest! You can buy a LinkIt™ Smart 7688 Duo HDK on Seeed Studio.

Winners are selected based on the following criteria:

1) Project Documentation (60 points)

Your project must make use of the LinkIt™ Smart 7688 Duo HDK.

• Story/Instructions - Show how you created your project, including images, screenshots, and/or video


• BOM – Detail the hardware components as well as apps you used (10 points)


• Schematics – Use software like Fritzing.org, draw your circuit diagrams, detailed photographs (10 points)


• Code – Include working code with helpful comments (20 points)


• CAD - showcase your complete vision with beautiful CAD designs if relevant


• Great photographs, videos, and screenshots are worth a thousand words. Ask yourself: "If I were a beginner reading this project, would I understand how to recreate it?"


• Project must clearly address the contest theme


2) Creativity (40 points)

• Your idea doesn't have to be original, but it should be creative (a fresh take on an old idea is often worth as much as a brand new idea).


Winners will be announced on this page on Apr 17, 2017.

Good luck! We can't wait to see what you build.

Prizes

Asia Pacific Winner

1 winner

Apple MacBook NEWEST VERSION

-

$1,600 value

Americas Winner

1 winner

Apple MacBook NEWEST VERSION

-

$1,600 value

Europe & Africa Winner

1 winner

Apple MacBook NEWEST VERSION

-

$1,600 value