Anything Goes In the Wildcard Challenge

Plus, get your Supercon tickets while they last! [Digi-Key is a proud sponsor of the 2023 Hackaday Prize]( [3602421454791242043.png] Wednesday, August 30, 2023 [Mini Hyperloop is a Small-Scale Mag-Lev Wonder »]( Time To Get Wild! That's right -- the [Save the World Wildcard Challenge]( of the 2023 Hackaday Prize is underway! You have until 7:00AM PDT on September 12 to make the world better with smart and sustainable hardware. This time, anything goes. Does your project not fit within the confines of previous rounds? It's your time to shine. As with previous rounds, the finalists will receive $500 each and have their chance at [the 2023 Hackaday Prize](. And when do we crown the winners and celebrate all the entries? At the Hackaday Superconference, that's when! [Get your tickets now]( while you still can, and then tell the world you're all booked up for November 3rd through the 5th in the name of hardware hacking. If you need a little inspiration, check out the early Wildcard contenders below! Highlights from the IO POPULAR BITS [project thumbnail]( [SNOWBYTE Can Do More Than Shovel Snow]( Born out of complete necessity, SNOWBYTE checks all of [cele9999]'s boxes: it does the job, was cheap to make, and it fits in the corner of the garage. Not only that, it's open source and customizable for other tasks around the home. [project thumbnail]( [LoRa Weather Station Measures It All]( Believe it or not, this LoRa weather station measures rain, air and soil temperature, relative humidity, soil moisture, wind speed and direction, pressure, and solar radiation. There's a wind-only version that works quite well for the RC flying club at the local airfield. [project thumbnail]( [Roktrack Weedwhacks Rice Fields With Pylons]( The operating principle is easy enough that anyone living alongside [Yuta Suito] on a terraced rice field in Japan can do: just set up the pylons and let it go. Roktrack will mow everything within the polygon quickly, making light work of a serious problem. Hack Chat LIVE CHAT WITH LEADING EXPERTS EVERY WEDNESDAY You Should Host a Hack Chat! If you've been thinking about hosting a Hack Chat, here's your chance. Do you work in an interesting field that people would love to hear about? Do you have a cool project you're working on? Or maybe there's just something you'd like to discuss? Then host a Hack Chat! Check out [our FAQ]( for all the details. And if there's someone you're just dying to see on the Hack Chat, let us know and we'll try to make it happen. [Send us your ideas](mailto:tips@hackaday.com?subject=Hack Chat Tip) and we'll see what we can do. Featured Projects POPULAR BITS [Non-Contact Touch Panel Uses a Switching Photo Reflector]( [Animate Your Next Project With Fiber Optic-Assisted RGB LEDs]( [NFT Camera Proves Photos Are Real Using the Blockchain]( [Open-Source E-Reader Uses an Open, Self-Hosted Server]( Live Events MEETUPS, CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS [East Coast RepRap Fest - Sept 30 - Oct 1]( Billed as 17,000 square feet of fun, the best part of the East Coast RepRap Festival sounds like the 3D Printed Derby. Yeah, as in, a Pinewood Derby but with 3D-printed cars. Get your tickets today! [Maker Faire Bay Area - Oct 13-15 & 20-22]( After what feels like a long hiatus of a just a few years, the legendary Maker Faire Bay Area is back for not one but two weekends of fun. Come for the amazing robots and builds, and stay for the cutting-edge technologies. [The Hackaday Superconference - Nov. 3-5]( Supercon is by far the most awesome hardware hacker con of the year, and if you love Hackaday, you definitely want to be there. Honestly, just the crowd that Supercon brings together is reason enough to attend, but then you throw in the talks, the badge-hacking, the food, and the miscellaneous shenanigans… it’s an event you really don’t want to miss. [twitter]( [facebook]( [instagram]( [Terms of Use]( [Privacy Policy]( [Hackaday.io]( [Hackaday.com]( This email was sent to {EMAIL} [why did I get this?]( [unsubscribe from this list]( [update subscription preferences]( Hackaday · 61 South Fair Oaks Avenue · Suite 200 · Pasadena, CA 91105 · USA