Official Rules | Luminary Micro Design Stellaris 2010 Contest

Official Rules and Regulations

The Project must use the Texas Instruments ("Sponsor") Stellaris EKK-LM3S9B96. Participant are challenged to design a unique application (“Project”) that must use the LM3S9B96 and embedded SafeRTOS in ROM. Additional points will be awarded for the use of StellarisWare IEC60730 library and for applications which improve safety or reliability. Each participant will receive one EKK-LM3S9B96 board and a six-month, full-capability Keil license. Any application code must be created with the provided Keil software.
The Project must use commercially available components only.
The object/executable code must be able to be recreated by a third party.
All Participants should use the DesignStellaris 2010 ("Contest") REGISTRATION FORM to register for this Contest and obtain an assigned Registration Number.
To submit an Entry, Participants must upload their Project files to the Circuit Cellar Dropbox. If a Participant cannot utilize the FTP Dropbox, the Participant may send Project files on a CD-ROM, DVD, or USB memory stick to the following address, taking care to label all items with a Project Registration Number: DesignStellaris2010 Contest, Circuit Cellar, PO Box 180, Vernon, CT 06066
Incomplete, illegible, or defaced registrations will be rejected.
If entering multiple Entries, each Entry must have an associated individual Contest Registration Form completed and an individual Registration Number assigned for each Project Entry.

General Submission Rules

No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law. Decisions of Circuit Cellar ("Contest Administrator") are final. By virtue of participation, the Participant:

represents and warrants:

that the Participant is not bound by any intellectual property agreement or any other agreement or obligation, with an employer, university, college, educational organization, or otherwise, that prohibits or limits in any way:

the Participant's right to participate and/or
the Participant's right to submit material, or
that may limit the Sponsor's and the Contest Administrator's rights in any way to such submission in the event the Entry is chosen as a winner; and

that the Participant or Participants are over the age of eighteen (18); and
that the Participant's submission does not contain or incorporate the intellectual property and/or confidential information of any third party.

Who May Enter

Any individual or group of individuals, age 18 and over as of the date of entry, may enter the Contest. Direct employees of the Sponsor, the Contest Administrator, or their affiliates, advertising, promotion, production agencies, members of their immediate families, or those with whom they are domiciled are not eligible. In addition, anyone living in a country, province, or state where the Contest is prohibited, taxed, or otherwise restricted under national, federal, provincial, state and local laws, rules, or regulations is ineligible. Participants who are residents of a country, state, or province that prohibits unregistered contests or requires the Contest Sponsor to post a bond are ineligible.

How to Enter
All Entries must be received on or before 1:00 PM EST on June 23, 2010. Entries received or postmarked after 1:00 PM EST on June 23, 2010 are ineligible.

Each Project entered in the Contest must be the original work and sole and exclusive property of the person or team who submits it, or the Participant must have written legal permission from the property owner. In the case of Projects owned by other parties, the written legal permission must be included with the Entry.

To submit your entry, you must upload your project files to the Circuit Cellar Dropbox. If you cannot utilize the FTP drop box, you may send Project files on a CD-ROM, DVD, or USB memory stick to the following address, taking care to label all items with your Project Registration Number:
DesignStellaris2010 Contest
Circuit Cellar
PO Box 180
Vernon, CT 06066

Registration Form

The completed Registration Form may be submitted online, via fax, or mail to the address listed below. After the registration form is received, the Contest Administrator will respond via the same means or e-mail if an e-mail address is given with an assigned Registration Number. This number is used to identify the specific Project being submitted and should be attached to all Entry documentation and to any correspondence. After the Participant receives a Registration number, the following items should be submitted for an entry to be deemed acceptable:

After the Participant receives a Registration number, the following items should be submitted for an entry to be deemed acceptable:

Abstract

The abstract is a publishable synopsis of the Project (approx. 500 words) in Microsoft Word or ASCII text, including a block diagram of the design, a project photograph, software code sample, and a schematic in a single document (the block diagram, project photograph, and schematic must also be supplied as separate files in addition). Acceptable file formats for graphics files are JPG, GIF, TIF, BMP, and EPS. Note: If the Participant uses a Stellaris demonstration/development board, then the schematic only needs to show the connections to the board and any circuitry added by the Participant.
Unless the Participant specifically designates a separate abstract file that is complete with the necessary description, schematic, diagram, photograph, and software code to constitute the required publishable abstract, the Participant grants Circuit Cellar the right to utilize schematics, diagrams, descriptions, software listings, and photographs incorporated within the full entry documentation as necessary to complete the abstract.

Complete Documentation

The "complete documentation" must include: a detailed text description of the Project and its operation (no page limit); source code; at least one block diagram; and a complete schematic(s) (Note: If the Participant uses a Stellaris demonstration/development board, then the schematic only needs to show the connections to the board and any circuitry added by the Participant.); and any additional photographs, movies, diagrams, screen shots, tables, flowcharts, etc. Acceptable formats for documentation are Microsoft Word and ASCII text. Acceptable formats for graphics files such as photographs, block diagrams, screen shots, and schematics are JPG, GIF, TIF, MP, and EPS. While the graphics files may be embedded in the project documentation, the images must also be provided as individual files.

Source Code

The Entry must include complete source code. The object/executable code must be able to be recreated by a third party. The code for the project must be developed using Keil's RealView Microcontroller Development Kit and the code must be packaged and presented as part of the complete Project folder.

The Project must use the Texas Instruments ("Sponsor") Stellaris EKK-LM3S9B96. Contestants are challenged to design a unique application that must use the LM3S9B96’s embedded SafeRTOS in ROM. Additional points will be awarded for the use of StellarisWare IEC60730 library and for applications which improve safety or reliability. Each participant will receive one EKK-LM3S9B96 board and a six-month, full-capability Keil license. Any application code must be created with the provided Keil software.

All Entries must be received on or before 1:00 PM EST on June 23, 2010. Entries received or postmarked after 1:00 PM EST on June 23, 2010 are ineligible.

The design remains the intellectual property of the Participant. All Participants who submit an Entry in the Contest agree to grant the Contest Administrator non-exclusive, assignable, full-publication rights of the Contest Project if they win. Software submitted with any Project Entry remains the property of the Participant; however, winning Participants agree to provide the Contest Administrator a non-exclusive, assignable, right to copy, reproduce, display, publish, and disseminate this software in any media, without any territorial limitation, as part of any winning-Project presentation and to assign all rights, title and interest in the software to the Sponsor. Prior publication or the prior Internet posting of essential components in an Entry are not grounds for disqualification. The publication rights described herein refer only to the actual materials submitted as the Contest Entry and not the entire Project. All winning Projects will be posted (electronic/Internet media) at the discretion of the Sponsor and the Contest Administrator. All Participants entering Projects in the Contest assign to the Sponsor and the Contest Administrator the right to publish (in print or electronic/Internet media) the submitted or extracted abstract (including the block diagram, photograph, schematic, and software code sample).

How to Win

All Contest entries will be judged by the Contest Administrator and a panel of judges selected by the Contest Administrator on the following: technical merit 20%, originality 20%, usefulness 20%, cost-effectiveness 20%, and design optimization 20%. In the event of a tie, the tied Entry with the highest score in the technical merit category will be deemed the winner. In the event of a further tie, the tied Entry with the highest score in the usefulness category will be selected. Contest judges have been chosen based on their familiarity with engineering design, Stellaris EKK-LM3S9B96 (and SafeRTOS)component knowledge, and experience. Participants agree to abide by all decisions of the Contest Administrator, which shall be final and binding with respect to all issues relating to the Contest.

Prizes

The following prizes will be awarded:

$3,000 First Prize;
$2,000 Second Prize;
$1,000 Third Prize
and sixteen (16) $250 Honorable Mention prizes.

Legal Considerations

The odds of winning depend on the number of acceptable entries received and the decision of the Contest Administrator and judges.

Sponsor and Contest Administrator

Texas Instruments is the Contest Sponsor. Circuit Cellar Inc. is the Contest Administrator.