Pantherun Announces Engineering Contest Offering ₹10 Lakh Grand Prize and a Chance to Win the Pepper Board

Bengaluru: Pantherun Technologies has announced an exciting contest for engineering students and professionals to coincide with the India Mobile Congress 2024, scheduled from October 15-18, 2024, at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. This contest is a unique opportunity to showcase their product development skills and creativity using the new open-source development platform, Pepper, a cutting-edge FPGA-based open-source development platform.

Pepper stands out from other products in the market with its unique combination of FPGA-based open-source flexibility that allows designers to program the FPGA using Verilog/VHDL, do embedded software and application programming while using Pantherun’s patented latency-free AES encryption on a full function Layer 2 switch, and WiFi/4G Gateway, tailored for industrial applications. Unlike other platforms, it offers extensive customization and secure connectivity options, all within a rugged design that thrives in harsh environments, making it ideal for both students and engineering professionals working on advanced IoT and networking solutions.

Building on these strengths, the contest invites participants to present disruptive ideas in leveraging data protection and encryption for Edge applications using the Pepper open-source platform. Participants will get an opportunity to apply this technology to their past or upcoming projects and showcase how they plan to contribute to the open-source community, while also highlighting what they intend to keep as their intellectual property (IP) and what they are excited to share with others.

How to apply:
Contestants can visit Pantherun’s booth at the India Mobile Congress (IMC) or register online. The contest officially launches a week before IMC, with another campaign kicking off just before Electronica 2024. The form will include sections where participants can describe their past work, their vision for Pepper, and the contributions they aim to make.

Key Dates and Prizes

• Submission Deadline: October 20, 2024

• Winners Announced: October 25, 2024

The top 100 submissions will each receive a free Pepper board along with one year of access to exclusive tutorials, manuals, and the open-source community. All other participants will have the opportunity to purchase the board at a 50% discount, with the same access benefits included. After receiving their boards, winners and buyers will have three months to develop their ideas. They can then participate in a second round, where the top 10 products in progress will pitch for a grand prize of ₹10 lakhs.

“This is a unique chance for engineers to bring their ideas to life, collaborate with a vibrant community, and make an impact in the world of product development. Whether you’re an experienced professional or a budding innovator, don’t miss out on this opportunity to be part of something truly exciting,”  said Mr. Srinivas Shekar, CEO and Co-Founder, Pantherun Technologies.

Attendees of IMC and Electronica will have the added benefit of seeing Pepper up close, exploring the development tools, and discovering various products and technologies that Pantherun has developed for global markets using this technology.

For more details, visit: https://pantherun.com/