AUSTIN, TX--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Freescale Semiconductor announced the ten finalists invited to compete in the company's first green engineering design contest. The Freescale FTF Design Challenge finalists will strive to develop the next generation of sustainable embedded systems based on the company's energy-efficient technologies and easy-to-design-with development tools.
Freescale selected ten finalists from a field of 65 participants made up of embedded systems developers and engineering students representing Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Mexico, and the United States. Each submission was judged on creativity, design efficiency, technical complexity, number of Freescale devices used, and overall application innovation to improve the environment.
Each of the ten finalists will receive a $1,000 (USD) award, a professional CodeWarrior development platform and a video camera to capture their design building experience. Freescale invites these finalists to develop prototypes of their designs to be submitted to an expert panel for final judging at FTF Americas, June 16–19.
As international FTF Design Challenges open over the next few months, Freescale will award more finalists' prizes and a first-place winner in each regional design challenge. In addition to the five first-place winners receiving $10,000, they will be invited to move on to the Grand FTF Design Challenge where they can vie for an additional $50,000 in prizes and a ticket to the FTF 2009 of his or her choice.
Top Ten Finalists (in no particular order):
| Entry Name | Finalists' Name | Company |
| Flexible Fuel Engine Control Unit | Erwin Saavedra | ECATES21 |
| Gas Saving Automobile Solution Injection System | Kelvin LeBeaux | University of North Florida |
| Flexible Energy Management and Automation System | Charles Lord | Triangle Advanced Design and Automation, PLLC |
| Intelligent Stirling Generator | Alejandro Macario | Instituto Tecnoligico y de Estudios Superores |
| Clean Water Diverter | Mark Donkers | OES, Inc. |
| Wind Turbine Active Control System | Rashid Ruiz | Tecnoligico de Monterrey |
| Digital Sun Distiller | Jose Luis Rojas | iluxon S.A. de C.V. |
| Sun Light Efficiency Detector | Thomas Moulton | FACTS Engineering LLC |
| Solar Follower | Pablo Di Giulio | Universidad Tecnologica Nacional FRSFCO |
| ZigBee-based Wireless Sensor Network for Greenhouse Automation | Alfredo Cabral | CODE Ingenieria S.A. de C.V. |
The finalists will submit their completed prototypes by the May 16, 2008 deadline. Freescale will announce the FTF Design Challenge Americas top five winners on May 23, 2008. The top winners will receive cash prizes, complimentary travel and accommodations in addition to free admission to the Freescale Technology Forum—held June 16–19, 2008 at the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton Conference Centers in Orlando, FL—where attendees will vote on the winning prototype.
Background
Announced in October 2007, Freescale's FTF Design Challenge invites embedded designers worldwide to "go green", rewarding the most inventive design teams with cash prizes and high-profile recognition. The challenge includes free technical training and a professional CodeWarrior development platform that supports a range of Freescale's technologies. The Americas program registration closed February 15, 2008.
About Freescale Semiconductor
Freescale Semiconductor is a global leader in the design and manufacture of embedded semiconductors for the automotive, consumer, industrial, networking and wireless markets. The privately held company is based in Austin, Texas, and has design, research and development, manufacturing or sales operations in more than 30 countries. Freescale is one of the world's largest semiconductor companies with 2007 sales of $5.7 billion (USD).
Freescale Technology Forum
The Freescale Technology Forum (FTF) has become the developer event of the year for the embedded semiconductor industry. The Forum, which debuted in 2005, has been enthusiastically received by the global developer community, drawing more than 12,000 attendees at FTF events worldwide since its inception.