BLE Audio Design Challenge

Challenges connect you with brands seeking your expertise through project requests or “bounties.” Submit a proposal quickly, as spots fill fast, and if selected, complete the project and publish it on Hackster to earn the payout. Outstanding submissions may also receive a cash bonus.

Calling Bluetooth LE Audio designers and engineers!

We invite you to submit a product proposal showcasing your innovative design.

A strong submission should present a complete design concept leveraging Nordic’s nRF5340 for applications such as headphones, hearing aids, audio guides, audio broadcast solutions, speakerphones, and music devices.

Three contenders will be selected to build out their first-stage prototype with nRF5340 Audio Development Kit (DK) with a payout of $1500.

Proposal Requirements:

Participants must craft a compelling design narrative that explains the vision, purpose, and technical foundation of their Bluetooth audio device. This narrative should not only describe the technical specifications but also articulate the user experience, market relevance, and innovation behind the design.

What problem does your Bluetooth audio device solve?

• Does it improve sound quality, reduce latency, enhance accessibility, or introduce a novel feature?

Who is your target audience?

• Consumers, professionals, gamers, musicians, individuals with hearing impairments, etc.?

What is the core innovation in your design?

• E.g., energy efficiency, superior connectivity, spatial audio, AI-driven sound enhancement, etc.
• Are you doing any noise cancellation,consider replacing “beamforming” here with “integrated antennas”, or equalization algorithms?
• Are you addressing any low-latency streaming and synchronization?

Form Factor & Usability:

• Describe the design (earbuds, headphones, speaker, hearing aid, embedded solution, etc.).

Power & Battery Strategy:

• Battery type, charging method (e.g., USB-C, Qi wireless charging)
• Expected power consumption per use case (e.g., music playback, standby, broadcasting).

User Interface & Control Mechanism

• How do users interact with the device (physical buttons, touch, voice commands, mobile app, etc.)?

Bluetooth LE Audio Features Integrated:

• Auracast™ Broadcast Audio: Does your device support one-to-many audio streaming?
• LC3 Codec Optimization: How does your device balance sound quality and power efficiency?
• Multi-Stream Audio: Does it enhance connectivity for binaural audio applications?

Proposal Process:

• Step 1: Start a Hackster Project. Outline your design narrative/story. Summarize the impact of your design. Why should this proposal be selected for funding? Also include any calculations, architecture diagrams, and a Bill-of-Materials (BOM).
• Step 2: Submit your proposal on the challenge page. You'll be answering a questionnaire and including the link of your Hackster Project.
• Step 3: Judges will select 3 top proposals by March 24, 2025 to become "Contenders".
• Step 4: Each contender will receive 2x to 3x nRF5430 Audio Development Kit for prototype development based on your BOM and design justifications.
• Step 5: Verify your design with the development kits, and produce your schematic for a PCBA.
• Step 6: Complete the PCBA layout and get a quote from PCBWay.
• Step 7: Coordinate your PCBA fabrication with PCBWay. Once fabrication is complete and you receive your prototype board, you will need to do any associated re-work and testing till you have a working solution. **All PCB fabrication costs are sponsored by PCBWay
• Step 8: Fully document your implementation in your Hackster Project, and include all of the necessary schematic files, user instructions, and other CAD files in your final submission to receive the $1500 solution payout.

Technical Requirements:

Your final solution submission should be a fully functional PCBA that incorporates the following components and interfaces:

Core Components & Chipset:

• Nordic nRF5340. The nRF5340 is the world’s first wireless System-on-Chip (SoC) with two Arm® Cortex®-M33 processors. The combination of two flexible processors, the advanced feature set, and an operating temperature up to 105 °C, make it the ideal choice for LE Audio, professional lighting, advanced wearables, and other complex IoT applications.

Power Management:

• Integrate either the nPM1100 or nPM1300 power management ICs into your project.

(Optional) Audio Processing & DSP:

• Cirrus Logic’s CS47L63 Audio DSP. The CS47L63’s high-performance DAC and differential output driver are optimized for direct connection to an external headphone load. It is perfect for earbuds with mono-only and direct speaker output.

Development Kit:

Schedule & Project Milestones:

Prizes

Best Solution

1 winner

Judge's choice of best solution

Base Award

3 winners

Payout amount

Judges

Dan Sellers (Hackster PRO) is an RF/Wireless Engineer at Shure Incorporated, based in the Greater Chicago Area. With a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Dan’s career spans embedded systems design, integrated circuit design, and RF and wireless engineering, particularly in audio systems. Passionate about all things engineering, he creates content of his own, sharing insights from his diverse technical expertise on Hackster News.

Robb Sabolovic is a Technical Sales Engineer for Nordic Semiconductor supporting customer integration of Nordic wireless solutions into innovative low-power applications. He has a multifaceted background including roles in IC design, Systems Engineering, and Field Applications. Even now being in sales, Robb still enjoys writing firmware and creating hardware designs. Finally, in his spare time, he supports animal rescue organizations and unsuccessfully tries to herd his 4 cats at home!

Helmut Lord is a Field Application Engineer for Nordic Semiconductor where he accelerates customer development and demonstrates low-power wireless hardware + firmware. On the side, Helmut is a FOSS and Open Source Hardware enthusiast.

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