STMicroelectronics and EE Times Announce Winners of STM32 Design Challenge at ESC Silicon Valley

SAN JOSE, Calif., May 4, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- EE Times, part of UBM Electronics, a UBM company (UBM.L) and the daily source of essential business and technical information for the electronics industry's decision makers, and STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM), a global semiconductor leader serving customers across the spectrum of electronics applications and a world leader in microcontrollers, announced today at ESC Silicon Valley the winning design of the STM32 Design Challenge, a six month contest and community sponsored by ST, and its partners ARM, Atollic, Digi-Key Corporation, IAR Systems and Keil.

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Community members rated and voted from an original pool of nearly 200 designs submitted in the competition. The objective of the Design Challenge was to expand awareness of ST's 32-bit STM32 ARM Cortex™-M3 microcontroller family by fostering a social community where electronics engineering contestants could build, test, and display their designs. Winners were chosen from ten finalists with the most imaginative and innovative solutions using the STM32 Discovery Kit, which was given away free to registered contestants.

Taking the title of Grand Prize Winner was Nghia Tran with Navicane, a talking navigation cane intended for use by visually impaired individuals. The goal of the design was to provide navigation information via audible messages and haptic feedback, helping users localize where they are and where they are headed, while improving overall mobility and decreasing dependency upon other resources. Included in this design were a magnetometer, accelerometer, proximity sensor, GPS, light and temperature sensors, audio codec and more. Mr. Tran was awarded $3,500 in addition to a free conference pass to attend ESC.

Honorable Mentions include the Delta Robot Clock by Justin Smith, a standard digital display on the end actuator of a delta robot; the eDiaper by Lakshmi Balasubramanian, an intelligent and hygienic moisture detection unit that alerts caregivers when to change a diaper; and a House Wide Audio System by David Erickson that included 8 inputs and up to 8 channels. Each Honorable Mention recipient received $1,000.

"Navicane stood out among the many entries as a winning concept that balances not only the STM32's performance, rich set of peripherals and outstanding power efficiency, but it also has practicality in real-world design and potentially improving users' lives," said Stuart McLaren, Product Marketing Manager at STMicroelectronics. "The winning design showed amazing creativity and truly demonstrated the kinds of innovation possible using the STM32."

"The STM32 was a great program for the engineering community, and the diversity of entries showcased their creativity and ingenuity," says Karen Field, SVP Content, UBM Electronics. "The social aspect of peers commenting, rating and voting on the best designs made the contest even more exciting."

About STMicroelectronics

STMicroelectronics is a global leader serving customers across the spectrum of electronics applications with innovative semiconductor solutions. ST aims to be the undisputed leader in multimedia convergence and power applications leveraging its vast array of technologies, design expertise and combination of intellectual property portfolio, strategic partnerships and manufacturing strength. In 2010, the Company's net revenues were $10.35 billion. Further information on ST can be found at www.st.com. 

About UBM Electronics  

UBM Electronics is the global leader in media and marketing solutions for the electronics industry.   UBM Electronics delivers results for the key influencers and decision makers involved in the design, development and commercialization of technology through its market leading brands, peer communities and professional education services.   More than 2.2 million engineering professionals engage with UBM Electronics brands which include EE Times, EDN, EDN China, EDN Asia, EDN Japan, Design News and Test & Measurement World, TechOnline, Designlines and Embedded.com across the globe to accelerate technology sales. The international electronics community gathers at UBM Electronics market leading events such as the Embedded Systems Conferences, DesignCon and ARM Technology Conference to share, learn, discuss, and advance the critical issues and challenges facing the electronics industry. Additionally, UBM Electronics provides end-to-end services ranging from next-generation marketing, integrated media, custom solutions and research.  UBM Electronics is part of UBM (UBM.L) a global provider of media and information services for professional B2B communities and markets.

For more information on UBM Electronics please contact:
Felicia Hamerman, Vice President, Marketing
T: 516.562.5652, E: felicia.hamerman@ubm.com

For more information on STMicroelectronics please contact:
Michael Markowitz, STMicroelectronics
T: 781.591.0354, michael.markowitz@st.com

SOURCE UBM Electronics