The Go Configure Design Challenge Series will consist of a set of twelve (12) challenges. Two challenges will be launched every two weeks throughout the series. The challenges will range in complexity with a designation of level 1, 2 or 3. Challenges will increase in difficulty as the series progresses.
Design submissions are due two weeks after the start for each challenge. Each submission will be evaluated by Dialog according to the criteria described below under ‘Challenge Scoring‘. Designs must meet a minimum set of requirements to be accepted and considered an “approved” design.
Participants may submit more than one design or update a design for a challenge. However, only the last submission will be consider for each challenge. The submission time for the last challenge will also be used for considering Time-to-Market awards described below as well as in the event of breaking ties between two participants with the same score or number of points in the challenge series.
Prizes and badges are awarded for each challenge, the challenge series, as well as completing “approved” designs.
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All participants who submit a successful design (receiving 75 or more points — see Challenge Scoring) will receive:
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The top three scoring submissions for each challenge will receive a Challenge Award Badge and be listed on the efabless.com web site. In the event of a tie, the participant who submitted their design earlier will rank higher.
The top place finisher for each challenge will also receive their choice of one of four prizes.
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Additionally, Time-to-Market awards will be given to the first three submissions for each challenge that achieve a score of 90 or better (out of 100). These awards will be cash prizes (in the form of Amazon Gift Cards), and will vary based on the challenge difficulty.
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| Design Complexity | Challenge Place | Award |
|---|---|---|
| Level 3 | 1st place | $750 |
| 2nd place | $500 | |
| 3rd place | $250 | |
| Level 2 | 1st place | $500 |
| 2nd place | $250 | |
| 3rd place | $100 | |
| Level 1 | 1st place | $250 |
| 2nd place | $100 | |
| 3rd place | $50 |
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Only the last design submitted will be consider for each challenge. This is irrespective of the score or completeness of any previous designs submitted for that challenge. Only the timestamp of the last submission will be considered for Time-to-Market awards or for breaking ties for the top three positions in a challenge.
In the event that less than three submissions meet a score of 90 or better, the unawarded prizes will roll to the next challenge and be split proportionally across the top three Time-to-Market winners. Unawarded Time-to-Market prizes will continue to push to the next challenge until the end of the series. If at the end of the series there is still a pool of unawarded prizes, these will be split proportionally across the top three positions for the overall Challenge Series Leaderboard (see below).
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At the conclusion of the challenge series, the top ranked participant on the leaderboard will have a choice of either:
Please refer to the section below on the Challenge Series Leaderboard for details regarding how ranking is determined across the challenge series.
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Challenge Series Award Badges will also be awarded to each of the top three positions on the leaderboard at the conclusion of the Challenge Series. These badges will be viewable on the respective profiles for these participants on efabless community site.
In addition to the Challenge Series Badges, each participant who submits at least one ‘approved’ design for each complexity level (1, 2 and 3) will receive a GreenPAK badge that will be visible on their profile.
Additionally, the winner of each challenge with the top design score will be entered into a raffle (except for the grand prize winner). The winner of the raffle will receive a Apple HomePod.
Challenges will be scored by Dialog against a set of 20 criteria across 4 categories. For each criteria, a design can score between 3 and 5 points for a maximum score of 100 points per design. For each criterion, the submission must meet a minimum requirement to be accepted. Meeting the minimum requirement for each criteria results in a score of 75 points. If a submission fails to meet any one of the minimum requirements for any of the criteria, then the submission will not be accepted and 0 points will be awarded for that submission.
Only the last submission for each challenge will be considered. Any previous designs submitted will be marked as ‘rejected’ when a new design is submitted by a participant.
| Criteria | Minimum | Acceptable [3 points] | Preferred [4 points] | World-class [5 points] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VDD Range | Must meet VDD range requirement. | n/a | Meets requirement | |
| Input Pins | All pins with only 1 or 2 missing labels. | n/a | Missing 1 or 2 labels | All pins and labels present |
| Output Pins | All pins with only 1 or 2 missing labels. | n/a | Missing 1 or 2 labels | All pins and labels present |
| Operating Current | Operating current is close to target. | n/a | Close to target | Meets target |
| Target Device | Must use specified device for challenge. | n/a | n/a | Correct target device |
| Criteria | Minimum | Acceptable [3 points] | Preferred [4 points] | World-class [5 points] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blocks Labeled | Some labeled | Some labeled | Most labeled | Well labeled |
| Design Commented | Some comments | Some comments | Most comments | All comments |
| SPICE | Passes 100% of tests | n/a | Passes 100% | |
| Emulation | Passes 100% | n/a | Passes 100% | |
| Criteria | Minimum | Acceptable [3 points] | Preferred [4 points] | World-class [5 points] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oscillator Configuration | Must use a good configuration. | Good | Very Good | Excellent |
| ACMP Usage | ACMP usage must meet a good threshold level. | Good | Very Good | Excellent |
| POR Usage | Must meet POR usage requirement for the challenge. | n/a | Requirement met | |
| Logic Configuration | Must use a good configuration. | Good | Very Good | Excellent |
| Counter Usage | Must meet a good usage level for the challenge. | Good | Very Good | Excellent |
| Delay Usage | Must meet a good usage level for the challenge. | Missing some | Missing little | Correct |
| Layout / Aesthetics | Layout must be fairly clean. | Fairly Clean | Mostly Clean | Very Clean |
| Pinout Choice | Must use a good configuration. | Good | Very Good | Excellent |
| Other Blocks | Must use a good configuration. | Good | Very Good | Excellent |
| Criteria | Minimum | Acceptable [3 points] | Preferred [4 points] | World-class [5 points] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Design File | A complete design file must be submitted. | n/a | Requirement met | |
| Datasheet | A completed datasheet must be submitted with no missing information. | n/a | Requirement met | |
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All participants will accumulate points across all twelve challenges in the series. This ranking will be publicly displayed on the site, and updated periodically. Specifically:
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