Sensor Fusion Challenge

How far can you push the new Arduino UNO Q with sensing and classifying complex environments? That’s what the Sensor Fusion Challenge is all about.

Design and propose the most advanced AI sensor fusion solution you can imagine using:

• Arduino UNO Q (MCU + MPU on one board)
• Edge Impulse for edge AI model development & deployment
• Sensors including Qwiic-compatible sensors

If your proposal lands in the top three, we’ll fund your build and pay you $800 once you bring it to life. Then, if your finished project is voted top project overall, you’ll win a trip to the next Edge AI Conference in San Diego, California.

What AI Sensor Fusion Is (and Is Not )

AI Sensor Fusion is…
Combining data from multiple sensors—for example IMU + microphone + environmental sensors—and feeding that rich, blended signal into an intelligent model running at the edge. Instead of treating each sensor in isolation, you create a single, smarter representation of “what’s really happening” in the world.

Think along the lines of:

• Recognizing complex activities by fusing motion + sound + pressure
• Detecting anomalies by combining vibration + temperature + current draw
• Interpreting context by fusing location + orientation + ambient light + audio

The goal: better signal, less noise, and decisions you could never make with just one sensor stream.

AI Sensor Fusion is not…

• Just reading one sensor and thresholding it.
• Simply averaging two similar sensors and calling it “fusion.”
• Streaming everything to the cloud and letting a server figure it out.
• Slapping “AI” on a single if/else statement.

Real sensor fusion means: multiple heterogeneous sensors + meaningful data fusion + ML/AI model running locally on your edge device.

Your Objective

Challenge:
Propose and build the most advanced sensor fusion solution you can imagine using:

• Arduino UNO Q as your main control and compute
• Edge Impulse as your edge AI pipeline (data collection, training, deployment)
• Qwiic or other sensors to combine multiple senses (environmental, motion, presence, etc.)

We’re looking for ideas that feel ambitious but buildable—a project that would inspire other engineers and show what’s really possible with edge AI and sensor fusion today.

How It Works

Submit Your Proposal
Describe your concept, the sensing setup, what you’re fusing, and why fusion matters for your use case. Include:

• Problem you’re solving
• What sensors you’ll use
• How data will be fused & modeled in Edge Impulse
• What “success” looks like (what your model will detect/classify/predict)

We Select the Top Three
The three most compelling, technically sound, and creative proposals will be selected. We will provide up to $400 for equipment and $800 once the project is complete.

Prizes

🥉 Top 3 Proposals (3 winners)

• Arduino UNO Q + $1,000 awarded to build your solution (paid in two installments)
• First Installment: $200 to help with any needed equipment
• Second installment: $800 once the project is delivered

🥇 Top Overall Project (1 winner)

• Trip to the next Edge AI Conference in San Diego, California (up to $1200)
• Present and demo your project live at the next Edge AI Foundation conference.

Prizes

Top Three Proposals

3 winners

Cash Payout

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$1,000 value

Earn up to $200 for equipment and $800 once the project is delivered.

Best Overall Project

1 winner

Trip to San Diego

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$1,200 value

Win a flight, hotel, perdiem, and tickets to the next Edge AI Foundation event in San Diego, CA.

Judges