Element14 Community has launched the Save The Bees Design Challenge at Electronica 2022. Bees are essential to the global food chain; one in three bites of food is pollinated by bees, but at present one-in-four bee species are at risk of extinction. Interested engineers are invited to develop solutions toward eliminating some of the issues facing the global bee population.
At this year’s Electronica event held in Munich, Germany, engineer MayerMakes exhibited his first prototype project to help combat Braulidae (bee lice) in beehives. Phil Hutchinson, senior specialist community programs at element14 Community, and MayerMakes connected with the element14 Community and general attendees at Electronica in the Avnet Village to announce the Save the Bees
Source: element14/Premier Farnell Ltd. Challenge in person and demo the Bee Lice Project.
“We recognize that some things are bigger than ourselves. Saving the bees has become a priority for many around the world as it is for us here at element14 Community,” said Dianne Kibbey, global head of community and social media for element14 Community. “We are excited to harness the creative minds of our community to create impactful solutions toward the growing problem of pollinator extinction. The Bee Lice Project is just one example of how innovative this community can be. We are excited to see what clever engineers create throughout the course of the challenge.”
From the applicant pool, 25 challengers will be selected to receive the challenger kit which includes an Arduino Pro Nicla Vision board and an MKR1310 for LoRa connectivity. Throughout the challenge, participants must blog about their process at least five times to show their progress.
The challenge will begin when participants are announced on January 4, 2023, with projects and blog posts due March 15, 2023. Winners will be announced by the end of March 2023.
element14 Community will announce one grand prize winner and one runner-up will be selected once the challenge is completed. The grand prize includes a ViVi electric bike with 50-mile range with a value of $899. The runner-up prize includes a folding electric scooter valued at $300. For the remaining 25 participants, finisher prizes include a bee hotel for your garden worth $20.
Applications for the Save the Bees Design Challenge are now open and will close on December 15, 2022.
