element14 Presents Celebrates 500 Project Build Episodes with a Competition

10 years ago, a video uploaded to YouTube introduced a show about making electronics projects. 500 uploads later, element14 Presents celebrates their 500th episode with a build competition called "Build Inside the Box 500."

The name is a play on a couple of things. 500 refers to the 500th episode and draws an analogy to an auto-racing event, signifying this is a competition. "Inside the box" has a more ambiguous meaning.

Often, engineers are told to "think outside the box." And, frankly, they generally enjoy finding those kinds of solutions. The twist on this competition is that the components found inside the box are the limiting factor!

Contestants

Contestants include three of the element14 Presents hosts: Katie Dumont, Clem Mayer, and James Lewis. (Note: The same James Lewis writing this article.) All three hosts came on board with element14 Presents after the original show host, Ben Heckendorn, retired. But these three are not the only ones competing, and they are not the only ones who win. Who decides the winner? The audience and community on element14!

The competition was also open to the element14 Community members. Several members attempted the same challenge with the same components. Katie, Clem, and James are judging those entries and selecting the winner.

Real Winners

Each of the video hosts is playing for a STEM-related organization. Katie selected TEC Girls, who engages young girls with technology. Clem is representing Georg Schibranji's Fabrik8 initiative and Hand.Werk.Stadt makerspace. And James picked the DePaul University $1,000 makerspace project, helping schools build a low-cost makerspace.

The prizes bundles of test equipment and shopping cart credit for electronic components. The producers created three prizes from two bundles so that no matter which build wins, all three organizations benefit!

Components

While the three contestants were involved in the early contest and episode design, they were not privy to the actual box contents. The only rule was that the build must use all eight components in some way.

• Arduino MKR Zero
• WAGO pluggable terminal blocks
• Vishay photo interrupter
• Microchip (analog) temperature sensor
• Microchip MCP604 op-amp
• MIDAS OLED display
• STMicroelectronics range or gesture sensor
• Multicomp Pro USB power bank

One initial concern was that all contestants would come up with the same idea given the same components. And while they had similar initial thoughts, everyone ended up in a very different place — including the element14 community participants!

Here is a breakdown of the project builds featured in the 500th element14 Presents episode.

Katie's Digital Theremin

Katie's project is the only one that took the name of the contest literally. She used the actual shipping box to create a digital theremin.

Theremins are typically an analog device that creates a distinctive music style. (Ironically, many believe the 1960s "Star Trek" theme song includes a theremin even though it does not.)

Katie's digital version uses hand gestures to generate different sounds. The STMicro range sensors detect the position of the player's hands.

Clem's Parcel Measurer

Of the three projects, Clem's is the most practical. He designed a box that helps automate measuring a package by determining the appropriate (Austrian) stamp.

The most clever use of the WAGO terminal blocks goes to Clem. Instead of making electrical contacts, his build uses them for mechanical mounting. This choice allows the user to place the parcel measurer almost anywhere.

In the episode, Clem discusses his original idea: a 3D scanner. Unfortunately, he had to change early on because the sensor did not provide enough resolution.

James' Baldcorder

Inspired by a childhood toy, James built a functional "tricorder." Tricorders are the scan-everything device found in Star Trek. Unlike a prop-perfect design, the Baldcorder can measure temperature and light.

Taking to heart the idea of a "hack," James turned the photo-interrupter into a light sensor and freed one of the 18650 cells from the USB bank for power.

Also, with the producers' and other contestants' approval, James added a few parts to complement the build. For example, some Adafruit NeoPixels provide the distinctive Goes Nowhere Does Nothing (GNDN) scanning LEDs.

Who Wins?

Voting for the three projects closes on June 11th, 2021. You can see the entire episode and vote for your favorite on the Episode 500: Build Inside the Box Challenge page on element14. Remember, the real winners are the STEM organizations each video host represents. So, go check out the build and vote for your favorite!