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Moderator's note:
The following message asks for a detailed product design (for $300?!) in the form of a "contest". For $300?!; I guess mechanical engineering does not pay well. If anyone wants to pursue this, do not respond to this job offer here; take it up in private email, please.

Hello everyone,

I’m looking to get a little microcontroller design work done for me. A
friend recommended that I visit this message board, and it looks
like this is the right place.

I’m a mechanical engineer by trade, and don’t know enough about
microcontrollers (meaning nothing about microcontrollers) to finish
the project I’m working on. I’m developing a set of tail lights for a
show car that will have an embedded grid of LEDs in them. My intent is
to be able to program custom patterns into the grid that I can change.
When I turn the lights on, I want the LEDs to light up in the pattern
that I currently have selected. Think of it like a version of the
Infinity G35 tail lights that the owner can change to suit their
tastes. I want to be able to program the pattern on my laptop, and
load it onto the microcontroller via a USB cable. Ideally, I would
like to be independent of a cable, and just load the image file onto a
thumbdrive and then plug that into the tail lights and have the
controller download the new file into memory.

In the spirit of the DARPA Grand Challenge, I’d like to hold a design
contest to get this project under way. I'm willing to offer a grand
prize of $300 and two runner-up prizes of $100 each.

The specs for this electronics project (above and beyond the above
description) are as follows:

Electrical
1) Must use existing vehicle power (12V, no more than 2 amps).
2) Grid of 10x20 LEDs. I want to be able to adjust the grid size when
I package this into the vehicle, so the design needs to be flexible
3) 3 wires coming in from the vehicle: a) ground, b) +12 volts for
normal lights, and c) +12V for brakes/turn signal
4) For brakes/turn signal, the grid should default to lighting up all
LEDs (this is negotiable if there is a problem with too much current draw)
5) Brakes/Turn signal lights must be brighter display than the normal
lights. Take note of LED-based vehicles on the road and the relative
brightness between the normal lights and brake lights.

Software
1) I must be able to adjust the software to reflect the final grid
pattern when I package the LEDs into the tail lights
2) Programming interface must run in Windows

Physical
1) I’ll be doing the final packaging, so your design must be
re-packagable. That’s a little vague, but just keep in mind that I
need my final product to all fit into a small space, embedded in a set
of aftermarket tail lights.

Usability
1) Everyone is going to want to play with these at the car shows, so
the user interface needs to be “idiot-friendly”. I must receive the
user interface source code so that I can make adjustments as-needed
for making it more user-friendly over time.
Project winners will need to adhere to the specs. I will negotiate
specs, if necessary.

Winners will be awarded based on three categories:
1) Functionality
2) Ease of Use
3) Packagability (how well I can repackage the whole thing to fit in
the car)

Ingenuity and creativity highly encouraged.

I need it done by May 4, 2007 (two weeks from now) at 12 midnight.
The entrants will submit a short video of their design solution in
action with a description. The three winning entries will be sent to
me and I will reimburse them for postage and component costs, up to
$50 each (on top of prize money). I'll buy the BX, so you won't have
to send that along.

Thanks,
Kevin

'cuz it costs money to be this cool...



(You need to be a member of basicx -- send a blank email to basicx-subscribe@yahoogroups.com )

This sounds more like a guy attempting to enter a contest himself, or possibly have you design a circuit for him so he can win a contract for a job. I see this alot at work when people want me to "help" them with a project. My first clue is usually help needed, with a deadline. Be wary!

xterra_trekker wrote: Moderator's note:
The following message asks for a detailed product design (for $300?!) in the form of a "contest". For $300?!; I guess mechanical engineering does not pay well. If anyone wants to pursue this, do not respond to this job offer here; take it up in private email, please.

Hello everyone,

I’m looking to get a little microcontroller design work done for me. A
friend recommended that I visit this message board, and it looks
like this is the right place.

I’m a mechanical engineer by trade, and don’t know enough about
microcontrollers (meaning nothing about microcontrollers) to finish
the project I’m working on. I’m developing a set of tail lights for a
show car that will have an embedded grid of LEDs in them. My intent is
to be able to program custom patterns into the grid that I can change.
When I turn the lights on, I want the LEDs to light up in the pattern
that I currently have selected. Think of it like a version of the
Infinity G35 tail lights that the owner can change to suit their
tastes. I want to be able to program the pattern on my laptop, and
load it onto the microcontroller via a USB cable. Ideally, I would
like to be independent of a cable, and just load the image file onto a
thumbdrive and then plug that into the tail lights and have the
controller download the new file into memory.

In the spirit of the DARPA Grand Challenge, I’d like to hold a design
contest to get this project under way. I'm willing to offer a grand
prize of $300 and two runner-up prizes of $100 each.

The specs for this electronics project (above and beyond the above
description) are as follows:

Electrical
1) Must use existing vehicle power (12V, no more than 2 amps).
2) Grid of 10x20 LEDs. I want to be able to adjust the grid size when
I package this into the vehicle, so the design needs to be flexible
3) 3 wires coming in from the vehicle: a) ground, b) +12 volts for
normal lights, and c) +12V for brakes/turn signal
4) For brakes/turn signal, the grid should default to lighting up all
LEDs (this is negotiable if there is a problem with too much current draw)
5) Brakes/Turn signal lights must be brighter display than the normal
lights. Take note of LED-based vehicles on the road and the relative
brightness between the normal lights and brake lights.

Software
1) I must be able to adjust the software to reflect the final grid
pattern when I package the LEDs into the tail lights
2) Programming interface must run in Windows

Physical
1) I’ll be doing the final packaging, so your design must be
re-packagable. That’s a little vague, but just keep in mind that I
need my final product to all fit into a small space, embedded in a set
of aftermarket tail lights.

Usability
1) Everyone is going to want to play with these at the car shows, so
the user interface needs to be “idiot-friendly”. I must receive the
user interface source code so that I can make adjustments as-needed
for making it more user-friendly over time.

Project winners will need to adhere to the specs. I will negotiate
specs, if necessary.

Winners will be awarded based on three categories:
1) Functionality
2) Ease of Use
3) Packagability (how well I can repackage the whole thing to fit in
the car)

Ingenuity and creativity highly encouraged.

I need it done by May 4, 2007 (two weeks from now) at 12 midnight.
The entrants will submit a short video of their design solution in
action with a description. The three winning entries will be sent to
me and I will reimburse them for postage and component costs, up to
$50 each (on top of prize money). I'll buy the BX, so you won't have
to send that along.

Thanks,
Kevin

'cuz it costs money to be this cool...

---------------------------------
Ahhh...imagining that irresistible "new car" smell?
Check outnew cars at Yahoo! Autos.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]


(You need to be a member of basicx -- send a blank email to basicx-subscribe@yahoogroups.com )