Meshtastic Device Design Challenge

Designers and engineers, unleash your creativity and build innovative MESHTASTIC devices with the brand-new Seeed Studio Wio Tracker L1 Series Meshtastic Development Kits.

Wio Tracker L1 Series Development Kits are low-power, scalable Meshtastic nodes featuring an Nordic Semiconductor nRF52840 for efficient processing, and an Quectel L76K GPS for precise location tracking. Meshtastic is a community-driven, open-source project that enables people to use inexpensive LoRa radios as a long-range, off-grid communication platform in areas without existing or reliable communication infrastructure.

In this design challenge, you’ll take the provided dev kit components and turn them into a unique working product — maybe at least a case, an extra keyboard add-on, or any other peripheral that brings your chosen use scenario to life.

There are 3 variants of the devkit, and you're welcome to design with any one of them. The core is the same across, but the display options differ:

• Wio Tracker L1 Lite - 🤖 No screen
• Wio Tracker L1 - 📺 1.3" OLED
• Wio Tracker L1 E-ink - 📄 2.13" E-ink

Who Can Join?

Whether you're a maker, product designer, or just love off-grid tech — this is your moment to get your hands on the brand new full-featured dev kit from Seeed Studio, and interact with Meshtastic core team members.

How the Challenge Works :

Step 1: Register for the challenge to receive the getting started guide and the necessary official files (such as 3D models of the devkits) in your email 24hrs after your registration. Please keep an eye on the inbox of the email address associated with your Hackster account.

Step 2: Start a Hackster Project and document your design narrative and concept. You will need your Hackster Project's URL before submitting your proposal.

Step 3: Submit your proposal on the challenge page by answering our questionnaire. EVERY SUBMITTED PROPOSAL WILL GET A 30% DISCOUNT FROM SEEED STUDIO for purchasing physical devices (eligible for Wio Tracker L1, L1 E-INK, and L1-LITE needed for participation).

Note: However, this discount code can only be used once per customer, so if you plan to design cases for more than one version, please make a one-time purchase.

Step 4: The top 10 proposals will be selected as “Contenders,” chosen for their design’s novelty, creativity, and thorough documentation. Each Contender will earn a base award upon successfully delivering their solution, verified by our judges.

Step 5: Contenders must validate their design using the physical hardware, make any necessary adjustments or revisions, and update their Hackster project with clear documentation of the validation process.

Step 6: Community support will count for 60% of the final score towards bonus award, based on the number of ‘thumbs-up’ (likes) the project receives. Throughout the challenge, gather votes from friends, family, and your social networks. All votes will be tallied on September 25 at 12:00 PM China Standard Time (UTC+8) for the final judging.

Step 7: Submit your fully documented design and project to the challenge to receive base awards. Bonus awards are given to 2 exemplar designers who demonstrated exceptional innovation, creativity, and community engagement.

Prizes

Base Award

10 winners

$200 Seeed Studio Coupon + $200 Cash Payout

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$400 value

Coupon applicable to any items on Seeed Studio Online Store Bazaar

Bonus Award

2 winners

Seeed Studio Coupon + Shenzhen Maker Faire 2025 Travel Support

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$1,550 value

● $500 Seeed Studio coupon (applicable to any items on Seeed Studio Online Store Bazaar)
● $750 travel assistance grant for Shenzhen Maker Faire 2025 (Nov 15–16)
● Complimentary 3-night hotel stay (approx. $300 value) to attend Shenzhen Maker Faire 2025 (Nov 15–16) as a Hackster Ambassador
● Note: This travel grant is only valid for in-person attendance and will be reimbursed 1–2 weeks after the event upon submission of required documents. Otherwise, the prize will be forfeited.

Judges

Robert (aka Crichton on Discord) has been a core contributor to the Meshtastic open-source project for over three years. His work spans documentation, community development, and managing the project’s social media presence, helping to grow and support the global Meshtastic community.

Nosk Wu is Senior Mechanical Designer at Seeed Studio. With years of experience in hardware product design, he has led the structural design of several flagship products, including the reComputer series, SenseCAP Watcher, and SenseCAP Tracker.

Jinger Zeng is Head of Applied Innovation Labs from Hackster. Her portfolio spans from building net-zero solar house, IoT drones, blinky wearables and costumes, to crafting global engagement campaigns. She chases aliens at her spare time, and runs the abduction zone on Hackster Discord.

Resources