Eligibility

You are eligible to enter if you meet the following requirements at 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 must be a citizen and current resident of one of the following countries or their respective territories: Albania, Algeria, American Samoa, Andorra, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bonaire, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Canada, Canary Islands, Cape Verde, Caribbean (Cuba is excluded due to sanctions), Cayman Islands, Chad, Channel Islands, Chile, Colombia, Comoros, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, East Timor, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Falkland Islands, Faroe Islands, Fiji, Finland, France, French Polynesia, Gabon, Gambia, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guatemala, Guernsey, Guiana (French), Guinea-Bissau, Guinea-Equatorial, Guinea Republic, Guyana, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland (Republic of), Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Japan, Jersey, Jordan, Kenya, Kiribati, South Korea, Kosovo, Kuwait, Latvia, Lesotho, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mexico, Monaco, Montenegro, Montserrat, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, Netherlands Antilles, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Northern Mariana Islands, North Macedonia (Republic of), Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Romania, Rwanda, Saipan, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, St. Barthalemy, St. Croix, St. Eustatius, St. Helena, St. John, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, St. Thomas, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Tahiti, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tonga, Tortola, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Virgin Islands (British), Virgin Islands (US), Zambia.
• You are not involved in the execution or administration of this Contest.
• If selected as a winner you must create an account through our payment vendor The New Money Company of San Francisco, Inc.
• You are not a Hackster, Avnet, Sponsor, or an immediate family member or household member of a Hackster employee or otherwise engaged in the execution or administration of this Contest.
• You are not a “Restricted Person”, which is defined as any legal or natural person (i) listed on a prohibited or restricted party list published by the U.S. government, including but not limited to the U.S. Department of Treasury’s “List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons” and “Consolidated Sanctions List”, and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Entity List, Unverified List, Denied Persons List, and Military End-User List, or any similar list maintained by the United Kingdom, the European Union or its Member States, or other applicable local authority; (ii) located, organized or resident in a country or territory against which the U.S. government maintains comprehensive economic sanctions or an embargo (i.e., currently Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and the Crimea and other regions of Ukraine controlled by the Russian Federation); (iii) in the case of a legal person, owned (50% or more in the aggregate) or controlled, directly or indirectly, by one or more persons or entities described in (i) or (ii); or (iv) otherwise the target of U.S. sanctions (collectively, “Restricted Persons”).

Submission requirements

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.
• Your entry must be your own original work.
• Your entry cannot have been selected as a winner in any other Hackster contest.

Hardware Application Requirements

Note: If you choose to submit an application for free hardware, you must meet the following requirements. If not, continue to 'Hardware/Software Build Requirements' below.

• Your hardware application must be submitted via the online application form found on the contest page’s “apply for hardware” tab.
• Your hardware application must be written in English.
• Your hardware application must use the Arduino UNO Q.
• Your hardware application must solve real-world challenges in robotics, home automation, gaming, industrial IoT, and social impact, powered by AI.
• Your hardware application must be submitted by Apr 5, 2026 at 11:59 PM PT.

Hardware/Software Build Requirements

• Your project must be created using the Arduino UNO Q.
• Your project must tackle real-world challenges in robotics, home automation, gaming, industrial IoT, and social impact, powered by AI.

Project Documentation Requirements

• Your project must include a project name, short project description, cover image, bill of materials (BOM), full instructions, images, and relevant resource files (schematics, code, CAD).
• Your project must be written in English.
• Your project must be submitted by Aug 30, 2026 at 11:59 PM PT.

Judging criteria

Your project will be judged according to the rubric below.

• Project Documentation (30 points)
  Story/Instructions - Show how you created your project, including images, screenshots, and/or a video demonstration of your solution working as intended. Ask yourself: “If I were a beginner reading this project, would I understand how to recreate it?”
• Complete BOM (20 points)
  Detail the hardware, software and/or tools used.
• Schematics (15 points)
  Draw your circuit diagrams using software like Fritzing.org and/or take detailed photographs.
• Code & Contribution (15 points)
  Include working code with helpful comments.
• Creativity (20 points)
  Your idea doesn’t have to be original, but it should be creative (a fresh take on an old idea is often worth as much as a brand new idea)

How to enter

Step 1: Register for the Contest

• Start by creating a free account on Hackster.io (or sign-in if already a member).
• Register for the contest by clicking “Register as a participant”.

Step 2: Build and Document Your Project

• 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 Aug 30, 2026 at 11:59 PM PT by clicking “review and submit project” on the contest page.

Full rules

Common terms used in these rules

These are the Specific Contest Rules (“Specific Rules”) that govern participation in the Invent the Future with Arduino UNO Q and App Lab Competition (“Contest”) organized by Hackster.io, an Avnet community (“Hackster”), and its sponsor Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. (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.

Contest description:

This is a skill-based contest brought to you by Hackster.io and its Sponsor. The object of this Contest is to create project tutorials using an Arduino UNO Q. For the purposes of this Contest, each project you submit in the Contest will be called an “entry”. All eligible entries received will be judged using the judging criteria above to determine the final prize winners.

What are the start and end dates?

Contest starts at Mar 3, 2026 at 12:00 PM PT and ends at Aug 30, 2026 at 11:59 PM PTand will consist of the following periods:.

• Contest projects submission period: Mar 3, 2026 at 12:00 PM PT through Aug 30, 2026 at 11:59 PM PT
• Free hardware application deadline is Apr 5, 2026 at 11:59 PM PT
• Contest winners will be announced on Sep 25, 2026 at 5:00 PM PT.

Note: Contest end dates are at the sole discretion of Hackster and/or the Sponsor and may be subject to change.

Can I enter?

If your participation violates ANY of the following, you may be disqualified.

• Your entry must be your own original work.
• Your entry cannot have been selected as a winner in any other Hackster contest.
• You must have obtained any and all consents, approvals or licenses required for you to submit your entry.
• Your entry may not include any third party trademarks (logos, names) or copyrighted materials (music, images, video, recognizable people, code, schematics etc...) unless you have obtained permission to use the materials.
• Your entry must comply with your employer’s gift policies. Note: Entrants are solely responsible for confirming compliance with employer contracting, gift, IP, and ownership policies. Hackster is not liable for Entrant’s failure to obtain such internal permissions.

Hardware applications and/or project entries may NOT contain ANY of the following content:

• Content that is sexually explicit.
• Content that is unnecessarily violent or derogatory of any ethnic, racial, gender, religious, professional, or age group.
• Content that is profane or pornographic.
• Content that promotes illegal drugs, firearms/weapons (or the use of any of the foregoing), or a particular political agenda.
• Content that is obscene or offensive.
• Content that defames, misrepresents or contains disparaging remarks about other people or companies.
• Content that communicates messages or images inconsistent with the positive images and/or good will to which we wish to associate.
• Content that violates any law.
• Content involving military, defense, autonomous weapons, harmful surveillance technologies, or any application restricted under Export Laws.

We reserve the right to reject an entry, in our sole and absolute discretion, that we determine contains any of the above content.

Important note about Copyright: Your entire entry must only include material (including hardware, source code – both open source and third party sourced, user interface, music, video or images) that you own or that you have permission from the copyright/trademark owner to use. Your entry may not include copyrighted materials (such as source code, user interface, background music, images or video) unless you own or have permission to use the materials. Ownership is not defined as purchasing a CD at a music store for replay, if playing a copyrighted recording on your guitar or repurposing an application’s user interface – your entry may be disqualified if copyrighted materials, including but not limited to these examples, are a part of your entry without appropriate licensing or permissions. If you do use permissible copyrighted materials, you must include the permissions information by citing the artist/creator and license information. Note that even material released under sites such as Creative Commons, common open source code licenses, and other similar licensing may need permission or acknowledgement as per the specific license.

Entries may not include export-restricted hardware, software, encryption, or technical data unless Entrant has verified such content is EAR99 or otherwise legally exportable. Entrants are solely responsible for ensuring that any included technology is not controlled under U.S. EAR, ITAR, or similar export laws.

Can I enter this Contest as a team?

You may not enter as a team.

How will my entry be potentially used?

Other than what is set forth below, we are not claiming any ownership rights to your entry. However, by submitting your entry, you agree to ALL of the following statements:

• You grant us and Sponsor an irrevocable, royalty-free, worldwide right and license to: (i) use, review, assess, test and otherwise analyze your entry and all its content in connection with this Contest; and (ii) feature your entry and all content in connection with the marketing, sale, or promotion of this Contest (including but not limited to internal and external sales meetings, conference presentations, tradeshows, and screen shots of this Contest entry in press releases) in all media (now known or later developed).
• You agree to sign any necessary documentation that may be required for us and our designees to make use of the rights you granted above.
• You understand that after the submission deadline has passed, any project that has been submitted to the Contest cannot be deleted or made private and will remain on the Contest page after the Contest has concluded.
• You understand and acknowledge that the Sponsor may have developed or commissioned materials similar or identical to your submission and you waive any claims you may have resulting from any similarities to your entry.
• You understand that you will not receive any compensation or credit for use of your entry, other than what is described in these full rules.
• Entrant represents and warrants that the entry does not infringe any third-party rights, including patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret, or moral rights. Entrant agrees to indemnify Hackster and Sponsors against any claims arising from alleged infringement.

Please note that following the end of this Contest your entry may be posted on a website selected by us for viewing by visitors to that website. We are not responsible for any unauthorized use of your entry by visitors to this website. While we reserve these rights, we are not obligated to use your entry for any purpose, even if it has been selected as a winning entry. If you do not want to grant us these rights to your entry, please do not enter this Contest.

How is free hardware (or cash if specified) awarded?

Limit one (1) giveaway per person. The decisions of Hackster and our sponsors are final and binding. Hackster and/or the contest host hold the right to award less hardware than displayed if there are not a sufficient number of eligible hardware applications received. To be eligible for free hardware (or cash if specified) you must meet the application requirements above. An application for free hardware (or cash if specified) cannot be altered or removed from the contest page after the submission deadline has passed.

If you are a potential hardware (or cash) recipient, we will notify you by sending a message to the e-mail address provided at time of entry within ten (10) business days following completion of judging. If the notification that we send is returned as undeliverable, or you are otherwise unreachable for any reason, we may award the hardware (or cash if specified) to another contest participant.

If you are confirmed as a free hardware (or cash if specified) recipient of this contest, the following rules apply:

• You may not designate someone else as the winner of the hardware (or cash if specified). If you are unable or unwilling to accept the free hardware (or cash if specified), we may award it to another contest participant.
• Prize fulfillment is subject to all applicable trade compliance requirements. Hackster may deny shipment or award a cash equivalent if shipment is restricted or prohibited under export control or sanctions laws.
• You will be solely responsible for all applicable federal, state, and local taxes related to accepting the hardware (or cash if specified), if you choose to accept the hardware (or cash if specified).
• By accepting the free hardware (or cash if specified), you are entering into a contract with Hackster stating that you will build, document, and submit a project to the contest by the contest deadline. If, for any reason, you cannot complete a project with the hardware (or cash if specified) you have received, you must inform us at contests@hackster.io and may be asked to return the hardware (or cash if specified). If you do not submit a project and do not return the hardware (or cash if specified) you may be ineligible for future hardware giveaways.
• All cash payouts will be distributed exclusively through The New Money Company. Winners must follow all instructions provided by Hackster to create an account or complete required verification steps with The New Money Company in order to receive their payout. Failure to complete the required steps may result in forfeiture of the cash prize.

Once the hardware leaves our warehouse, there is very little we can do to help locate lost or delayed shipments. Hackster and contest hosts cannot be held liable for any shipments that do not arrive or are delayed, and are under no obligation to replace lost shipments or missing or broken parts. If you have questions regarding your shipment, please contact us at help@hackster.io. Unless otherwise noted, all hardware giveaways are subject to their manufacturer’s warranty and/or terms and conditions.

How are prizes awarded?

Limit one (1) prize per person. If cash is awarded verified members will be directed to utilize the New Money Company of San Francisco to receive their payout. Details and instructions for such will be emailed. Hardware and other physical prizes will be shipped within 90 days of end of competition, in some cases Hackster may decide to award the cash equivalent of hardware won.

In the event of a tie between any eligible entries, an additional judge will break the tie based on the judging criteria described above. The decisions of the judges are final and binding. If we do not receive a sufficient number of entries meeting the entry requirements, we may, at our discretion, select fewer winners than the number of contest prizes described in the contest brief.

If you are a potential winner, we will notify you by sending a message to the e-mail address, the phone number, or mailing address (if any) provided at time of entry within ten (10) business days following completion of judging. Hardware and other physical prizes will be shipped within 90 days of end of competition, in some cases Hackster may decide to award the cash equivalent of hardware won.

If the notification that we send is returned as undeliverable, or you are otherwise unreachable for any reason, we may award to a runner-up. If there is a dispute as to who is the potential winner, we will consider the potential winner to be the authorized account holder of the e-mail address used to enter the contest. If you are a potential winner, we may require you to sign an Affidavit of Eligibility, Liability/Publicity Release and/or a W-9 tax form or W-8 BEN tax form within 10 days of notification. If you complete a tax form, you will be issued an IRS Form 1099 the following January for the actual value of the prize. You are advised to seek independent counsel regarding the tax implications of accepting a prize. If you are a potential winner and you are 18 or older, but are considered a minor in your place of legal residence, we may require your parent or legal guardian to sign all required forms on your behalf. If you do not complete the required forms as instructed and/or return the required forms within the time period listed on the winner notification message, we may disqualify you and select a runner-up.

If you are confirmed as a winner of this contest, the following rules apply:

• You may not exchange your prize for cash or any other merchandise or services. However, if for any reason an advertised prize is unavailable or any other reason, we reserve the right to substitute a prize with the cash equivalent of equal or greater value.
• If you are awarded a cash prize or payout, you will be required to receive payment through The New Money Company (“NUMO”). You must complete all onboarding, identity verification, tax documentation, and account setup procedures required by NUMO to receive your payout. Failure to complete these steps, provide required information, or comply with NUMO’s policies may result in forfeiture of your cash prize.
• You may not designate someone else as the winner. If you are unable or unwilling to accept your prize, we may award it to a runner up.
• You will be solely responsible for all applicable federal, state, and local taxes related to accepting the prize, if you choose to accept the prize.
• If you win a prize that violates import regulations for your county, you must complete this form within 10 days of receiving confirmation of your winning entry to 1) receive the cash equivalent value of the prize.
• Entrant agrees not to resell, re-export, transfer, or otherwise distribute prizes to any third party in violation of Export Laws.

Unless otherwise noted, all prizes are subject to their manufacturer’s warranty and/or terms and conditions.

What other conditions am I agreeing to by entering?

By entering this Contest you are agreeing to the following statements:

• You agree to abide by these full rules.
• You agree to abide by the policies outlined on Hackster’s website, including our Terms of Service, Code of Conduct, and Privacy Policy.
• You agree to release and hold harmless Hackster, Sponsor, and their respective parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, employees and agents from any and all liability or any injury, loss or damage of any kind arising from or in connection with this Contest, or any prize won.
• You agree that your personal data including your name, email address, personal address, phone number, and any other personal information disclosed during the duration of this Contest may be shared with and used by Hackster and Sponsor in order to facilitate the execution of this Contest.
• You agree that Hackster’s decisions will be final and binding on all matters related to this Contest.
• You agree that, by accepting a prize, Hackster and/or Sponsor may use your proper name and country and/or state of residence online and in print, or in any other media, in connection with this Contest, without payment or compensation to you, except where prohibited by law.
• Entrants acknowledge that their personal data may be transferred and processed in the United States or other jurisdictions with different data protection laws than their country of residence.
• As a condition of receiving any hardware or cash, Entrant certifies that all Items will be used solely for civilian, personal, and non-military purposes and will not be used in any prohibited end use under U.S., E.U., Japanese, or other applicable Export Laws.
• Hackster and Sponsors reserve the right to adjust, substitute, or withdraw prizes if supply chain disruptions, export restrictions, or legal limitations prevent fulfillment.
• Hackster may, at its sole discretion, award a cash equivalent either in place of a prize or in place of hardware that would otherwise have been used to participate in the competition. Any cash equivalent provided will be of equal or greater value than the item being substituted, unless otherwise required by applicable law or constraints related to fulfillment.
• You agree that you will at all times comply with all applicable domestic and international laws in connection with your participation in this Contest, including but not limited to applicable domestic and international anti-corruption and record-keeping laws and regulations, such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and the U.K. Bribery Act, and not directly or indirectly, offer, pay, promise make, offer, authorize, or promise any payments or contribution of money, gifts, business courtesies, hospitality or anything of value to any person for the purpose of influencing any official act or decision of such person in their official capacity, inducing such person to perform or omit any act in violation of their lawful duty, improperly obtain or retain business, securing any improper advantage, pay for improper advantage already secured, or inducing such person to use their influence to affect or influence any act or decision of any foreign or domestic government official or employee, government instrumentality, political party, political official, candidate for political office, member of a royal family, or any officer or employee of a public international organization.

What laws govern the way this Contest is executed and administered?

This contest will be governed by the laws of the State of Arizona, and you consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the courts of the State of Arizona for any disputes arising out of this contest and any matters or proceedings, shall take place in the State of Arizona, in the City of Phoenix. .Entrant agrees that any dispute arising from or relating to the Giveaway shall first be subject to informal resolution procedures before either party may pursue litigation.

What if something unexpected happens and the Contest cannot run as planned?

If someone cheats, or a virus, bug, bot, catastrophic event, or any other unforeseen or unexpected event that cannot be reasonably anticipated or controlled, (also referred to as force majeure) affects the fairness and/or integrity of this Contest, we reserve the right to cancel, change or suspend this Contest. This right is reserved whether the event is due to human or technical error. If a solution cannot be found to restore the integrity of the Contest, we reserve the right to select winners from among all eligible entries received before we had to cancel, change or suspend the Contest.

If you attempt, or we have strong reason to believe that you have compromised the integrity or the legitimate operation of this Contest by cheating, hacking, creating a bot or other automated program, or by committing fraud in ANY way, we may seek damages from you to the fullest extent permitted by law. Further, we may disqualify you, and ban you from participating in any of our future Contests.

Who do I contact about this Contest?

If you have any questions or comments regarding this Contest, please email us at help@hackster.io.