Restraint to Reinvention

If you are a winner, we will contact you directly via email to arrange the shipment of your prize.

Once you are an official contender, you will be entering into a legally binding agreement with Hackster to deliver a solution based on your proposal. Contenders who receive free hardware and do not finish the challenge may be ineligible for future challenges and competitions unless the hardware is returned. If you receive free hardware and become unable to finish, please contact us at help@hackster.io and let us know as soon as possible. We may choose to arrange for the hardware to be shipped to another proposal.

To be eligible for judging, you must meet ALL of the following requirements unless otherwise stated:

General Requirements

• You must be registered as a participant for this contest.
• You must join the Nordic Semiconductor community hub on Hackster.
• Your entry must be your own original work.
• Your entry cannot have been selected as a winner in any other Hackster Contest.
• Your entry must be a new project and not an exact duplicate of an existing project.

Proposal Requirements

Note: If you choose to submit an application for free hardware, you must meet the following requirements.

• Your Proposal must be submitted via the online application form found on the Contest page’s “submit a proposal” tab.
• Your Proposal must be written in English.
• Your Proposal must use the nRF54L15DK.
• Your Proposal must include a problem statement, high-level architecture, details on how you will use the nRF54L15DK, list of peripheral add-on hardware and a community engagement plan as outlined in the contest "Overview".
• Your Proposal must solve a problem related to an underserved community.
• Your hardware application must be submitted by Jan 10, 2025 at 12:00 PM PT.

Project Entry Build/Documentation Requirements

• Your project Entry must be created using the nRF54L15DK.
• Your project Entry must solve the problem outlined in your Proposal.
• Your project Entry must include a project name, short project description, cover image, bill of materials (BOM), full documentation of your implementation process including all testing and deployment images, inn-depth explanation of the hardware and software developed, highlighting key features and innovations, an outline of your vision for scaling and further developing the solution to maximize its impact and relevant resource files (schematics, code, CAD).
• Your project Entry must be written in English.
• Your project Entry must be submitted by Apr 15, 2025 at 12:00 PM PT.

Contest completion criteria

All Contenders who successfully complete the project requirements and submit their Entry on the Contest page by the stated submission deadline will be eligible to receive a payout, subject to the acceptance and approval process described herein.

Before any Base Payout is issued, Hackster and/or the Sponsor will review the submission for compliance with the Contest rules and confirm the Entry complies with the accepted Proposal. Failure to submit an acceptable Entry to meet the rules or to accept the payout terms may result in forfeiture of the prize.

Following the judging criteria outlined below, Hackster will select one Entry to receive the Bonus Payout, based on Hackster’s determination of the best submission. All decisions made by Hackster and/or the Sponsor regarding the Contest, including but not limited to eligibility, judging, and prize awards, are final and binding on all participants.

Your project will be judged according to the rubric below.

• Project Documentation (40%)
  Detailed problem statement, state of the community, include pictures/videos.
• Technical Implementation (30%)
  Detail the hardware, software and/or tools used. Include any block diagrams, system architecture, circuit diagrams and useful drawings.
• Impact Assessment and Community Implementation Plan (30%)
  Show how you define "impact", and why your solution would be impactful to the community. Include any workshop photos where you work with the community, and your learnings.

• $1500 (3 are available)

• $500 Bonus

Step 1: Submit a Proposal

• Start by creating a free account on Hackster.io (or sign-in if already a member).
• Become a verified member by completing the verification form at https://www.hackster.io/verify.
• Go to the proposal page by clicking “Submit a proposal” and complete the proposal form.

Step 2: Build and Document Your Project

• If you are chosen as a Contender, build your project according to the submission requirements.
• Document your project build using Hackster’s project template. To create a new project, click “create new project” on the Contest page or the “+” symbol in the top right corner of your Hackster page.

Step 3: Review and submit your project

• Review your project and make sure it meets all the submission requirements.
• Upload a previously created project by clicking “add existing project” on the Contest page.
• Submit your project by Apr 15, 2025 at 12:00 PM PT by clicking “review and submit project” on the Contest page.

Challenges are a new type of contest. We are in the beta stage for this new feature.

Contenders will be announced by January 17, 2025. The list of contenders will be visible on the Submit a proposal tab.

Contest winners will be announced on April 30, 2025. The list of winners will be visible on the main page (Contest brief).

These are the Specific Contest Rules (“Specific Rules”) that govern participation in The Restraint to Reinvention (“Contest”) organized by Hackster.io, an Avnet community (“Hackster”), and sponsored by Nordic Semiconductor (hereinafter referred to as the “Sponsor”) in relation to any individual (hereinafter referred to as an “Entrant”) who enters, attempts to enter or in any way participates or attempts to participate in this Contest.

In these Specific Rules, “we,” “our”, and “us” refer to Hackster and/or the Contest Sponsor. “You” and “yourself” refer to an Entrant. The full rules for this Contest also include the Official General Contest Rules (“General Rules”) posted at https://www.hackster.io/contest-rules and all eligibility, requirements, and judging criteria recorded in the “rules” tab of this Contest page. In the event there is a discrepancy or inconsistency between the General Rules and these Specific Rules, the Specific Rules shall control.

Contest Description:

This is a skill-based Contest brought to you by Hackster and sponsored by Nordic Semiconductor. The object of this Contest is to create low-cost, energy-efficient technical resources to address a pressing social issue in underserved communities using the Nordic nRF54L SoC. For the purposes of this Contest, each idea you submit will be called a “Proposal ” and each completed project solution you submit in the Contest will be called an “Entry”. Entrants submitting the highest quality Proposals as determined by Hackster will be awarded a project contract (“Contender”). All Entries submitted by Contenders on or before Apr 15, 2025 at 12:00 PM PT will be judged using the judging criteria below to determine the best Entry.

There will be up to three (3) Contenders awarded in this Contest. The base prize payout for this Contest will be USD $1,500 (“Based Payout”) and the bonus prize payout will be USD $500 (“Bonus Payout”). The Bonus Payout will be awarded to the Contender with the Best Entry as described below.

Eligibility:

You are eligible to enter if you meet the following requirements at the time of entry:

• You are at least 18 years of age, or the minimum age of majority in your place of residence at the time of entry.
• You are a citizen of and reside in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States or Vietnam.
• You have a verified Hackster user account.
• You are not involved in the execution or administration of this Contest.
• You are not a Hackster, Avnet or Nordic Semiconductor employee or an immediate family member or household member of a Hackster employee or otherwise engaged in the execution or administration of this Contest.

Only official contenders are able to submit solutions to this challenge. Please take your time and submit a thorough proposal in order to be considered.