DESIGN REQUIREMENTS & REGULATIONS

DESIGN REQUIREMENTS:

# The sensor must be able to measure a weather or hydrological variable. Be creative in your design, both in terms of parameters to observe and in ways of measuring them. We are looking for a sensor that measures either a standard parameter such as temperature and wind, or a less standard parameter such as dust or lightning. For this competition, the focus lies on the sensors themselves and not on data communication. The central idea is to come up with new concepts.
# The starting point is not so important as the outcome. You may want to build a sensor from scratch because that leads to a more robust and cost-efficient way of measuring a parameter. Alternatively, you may want to take an existing IC/method and use it to measure something new or more accurately. An example of the first approach may be to measure the variance in humidity over time at high rates to estimate evaporation. An example of the second approach would be to measure windspeed with a gas flow sensor used in cars. Of course, we hope you will not copy these examples but work out your own.
# The sensor must be inexpensive to produce; i.e. less than $25 per piece when producing 20,000 pieces.
# The sensor must be built of local materials as much as possible
# The sensor must be robust; this means avoiding the use of movable parts as much as possible.
# Avoid any cavities in your design, as insects might use them as hideouts.
# The sensor requires zero maintenance for two years.

Requirements design document:

– The description of your design fits on a maximum of 5 A4 pages
– The description includes up to 4 figures or tables
– The description includes a required half-page executive summary
– The format of your submission is PDF
– Only entries in English are accepted
– On the first page of the entry, the first and last name(s) of the participant(s) are clearly stated. When you are participating as a team, please include the names of all members.

REGULATIONS TAHMO SENSOR DESIGN COMPETITION

General
1.1 The TAHMO Sensor Design Competition is an initiative from the Delft University of Technology and the Federal University of Technology Akure. The objective of the competition is to develop a sensor suitable for weather stations in Africa.
1.2 By participating in the competition, entrants accept the regulations of the TAHMO Sensor Design Competition.
1.3 Delft University of Technology has the right to change the regulations at any time.

2. Participation
2.1 The TAHMO Sensor Design Competition is open to all people from ECOWAS countries who are interested, irrespective of nationality, education, profession, or age.
2.2 Entries can be either submitted as an individual or as a team. There is no limit to the number of members per team.
2.3 There is no limit to the number of entries for each participant or team of participants.
2.4 The design should be the entrant’s own original work, which is the entrant’s own responsibility and concern. The design should not infringe upon the intellectual or industrial property rights of other parties. In case of infringement, Delft University of Technology has the right to disqualify the entrant.

3. Prizes
3.1 The TAHMO Sensor Design Competition consists of the following prizes:
Of the selected teams, two members will be invited to Akure, where they will build and connect prototypes of their designed sensors. All expenses related to transport, accommodation, and catering will be paid for by the Delft University of Technology and the Federal University of Technology Akure. There will be materials for building the sensors and connections, which the teams can take home for further experimentation. The finale teams will get to keep the Arduino controller, that can be used to connect their sensor to the internet.

4. Procedure Award
4.1 Submission can be done by sending the entry to competition@tahmo.org. Only entries containing the first and last name(s) of the participant(s) will be considered.

4.2 The sending-in design deadline is Tuesday, July 1st, 00:00 GMT. All entries received after this date and time will not be considered.

4.3 Entrants will be sent a confirmation email when their entry is received by Delft University of Technology.

4.4 Apart from clause 2.4, all designs shall be judged on the design requirements described here, the entry requirements described here, the design innovation, and its applicability. When requirements are not met, Delft University of Technology has the right to disqualify the entry.

4.5 The winning entrants will be contacted before July 18th, 2014. These entrants will also be informed about the details and conditions of the workshop in Akure.

5. Intellectual Property
5.1 Entrants own the Intellectual Property rights to the original work they submit, but the Delft University of Technology and the Federal University of Technology Akure maintain a royalty-free, worldwide, perpetual right to use, copy, modify, translate, and/or adopt and distribute (parts of) the submission.

5.2 Delft University of Technology maintains the right to decide whether or not to use the submission. Participating in or winning the TAHMO Sensor Design Competition does not guarantee the submitted design will eventually be used.

Contact
If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please contact us at: competition@tahmo.org. You can also find us on Facebook and LinkedIn.