The challenge
Obesity and leading a sedentary lifestyle is becoming more of a problem in our society, leading to health risks for many individuals. Smart wearables help us monitor our fitness levels, track the GPS routes of our favorite activities, and generally motivate us to lead a more active lifestyle.
With the healthcare crisis, we are currently experiencing due to Covid-19, the healthcare system worldwide is operating at max capacity. Remote patient monitoring has been shown to be highly successful at reducing the number of hospital visits, thereby having the potential to ease the burden on hospitals worldwide. Patients wear these medical devices in their own homes that gather data continuously, which also lets healthcare professionals get a more complete picture of the patient’s health.
As a leading company in low power wireless, Nordic Semiconductor calls upon the Hackster community to create a product that solves a problem related to today's healthcare challenges. We are giving away up to 100 hardware bundles (300 tools) to top applicants!
Choose between creating your ‘Dream Smart Wearable’ and a medical wearable for remote patient monitoring.
WebinarJoin 'Get started on your Wearables project' webinar on March 18th at 9 am PDT to get going your project! We will go through all the important features on the nRF5340 DK and show you how to connect to the Adafruit display. We'll give you pointers to useful material and examples, introduce you to our support portal and developer community and open up for questions. Use this opportunity to ask about your project!
Challenge A: Build your dream smart wearable!If you could build a smart wearable tailored for your own needs, what would you do?
Use the nRF5340 DK with a touch display to show a concept smart wearable. Feel free to integrate any sensors you like such as accelerometer, temperature, GNSS (GPS), etc. Also, show the aggregated data on the display and create some form of graphical user interface (GUI). Transfer data or connect to other devices using Bluetooth LE. Try to push the boundaries of what a smart wearable can do!
Apply for Bundle A or purchase the following hardware:
50 bundles available!
nRF5340 DK + Adafruit Display + nRF52840 Dongle*
Challenge B: Build a medical wearable for remote patient monitoring.Showcase the processing capabilities and low power consumption of the nRF5340 for patient monitoring. Use the nRF5340 to receive and process data from one or more medical sensors, calculate relevant real-time statistics based on the data, and send this information over a wireless connection, such as Bluetooth LE, to a smartphone, PC, or another host device.
Example sensors include thermometers, hydrometers, accelerometers, heart rate or blood pressure sensors, pressure sensors, and more. Smart wearables are usually powered by a power-constrained battery, which makes power optimization a key parameter to improve. Monitor and optimize the power consumption of the nRF5340 by using the Power Profiler Kit II!
Apply for Bundle B or purchase the following hardware:
50 bundles available!
nRF5340 DK + Power Profiler Kit II + nRF52840 Dongle*
*The nRF52840 Dongle is a complementary device included in the bundle and is not required to be used in the project.
The hardwareYou will use the nRF5340 DK from Nordic Semiconductor. We will give away up to 100 bundles of hardware to top applicants.
Apply to receive bundle A or bundle B based on the target challenge for your project. If you change your mind after receiving your hardware, you can use Bundle B for Challenge A or vice versa.
Developing custom hardware is not a requirement for submission, and demonstrating a prototype based on the provided hardware bundle is sufficient, but feel free to include a sketch or drawing showing what the final product should look like.
Include a short demo video of your project in your submission and gain 15 bonus points! We’ll use your videos to promote the hardware after the contest is over.
If you are creating a remote patient monitoring device, be sure to use your PPK2 to measure and control the power consumption. Have a closer look at the PPK2 below.
Prizes
All winners will receive an nRF5340 t-shirt and swag from Nordic Semiconductor. Our judges are going to pick the best qualifying projects based on the judging criteria outlined in the rules section. You can win one of the following awards. Good luck!
Grand prize
The grand prize goes to the project that scores highest according to our judging criteria. Build a wearable that is creative, impactful, and well-executed.

1 winner
Best in Dream Smart Wearables
This award will be given to the best project in 'Dream Smart Wearable'.

1 winner
Best in Remote Patient Monitoring
This award will be given to the best project in Remote Patient Monitoring.

1 winner
Runner ups

15 winners
Judges
Contest will be judged by the Nordic experts!
Resources
Product videos
Introducing the nRF5340
Get your Power Profiler Kit II up and running
Tech support and community for wireless developers
Nordic DevZone
Demo video
Doom gaming demo using the nRF5340 DK
Documentation
nRF Connect SDK
nRF5340 DK
Power Profiler Kit II
Avnet nRF52840 White Paper
Github
nRF Connect SDK
Webinars
Meet the nRF5340 - the next generation in IoT
Introduction to Bluetooth Low Energy
nRF Connect SDK
Getting started with custom development in nRF Connect SDK
About us
Nordic Semiconductor is a fabless semiconductor company specializing in wireless technology that powers the IoT. The company’s award-winning Bluetooth Low Energy solutions have made it the market leader, and are complemented by ANT+, Thread, and Zigbee products. With the introduction of LTE-M and NB-IoT, Nordic brings low power, massive IoT into the cellular world.
Gain reputation points!
Earn reputation points for participating in this contest:
- Submit an application to receive a free device: 5 points
- Your submitted hardware application wins: 50 points
- Submit a project entry: 10 points
- Submit a project entry 30 days before the deadline: 50 points
- Be among the first 10 to submit a project entry: 50 points
- Your submitted project entry wins the contest: 250 points
Contest Status
Timeline
Contest begins
January 22, 2021 at 9:00AM PT
Applications for hardware close
February 25, 2021 at 11:59PM PT
Hardware recipients announced
March 11, 2021 at 10:00PM PT
Submissions close
May 20, 2021 at 9:00AM PT
Winners announced by
Jun 3, 2021