She asked for help, and you came to her aid. Pioneers, the winners of the Only you can save us challenge have been picked!
Can you see me? Only YOU can save us!
I need your help. This is a call out for those between 11- and 16-years-old in the UK and Republic of Ireland. Something has gone very, very wrong and only you can save us. I’ve collected together as much information for you as I can. You’ll find it at http://www.raspberrypi.org/pioneers.
The challenge
In August we intercepted an emergency communication from a lonesome survivor. She seemed to be in quite a bit of trouble, and asked all you young people aged 11 to 16 to come up with something to help tackle the oncoming crisis, using whatever technology you had to hand. You had ten weeks to work in teams of two to five with an adult mentor to fulfil your mission.
The judges
We received your world-saving ideas, and our savvy survivor pulled together a ragtag bunch of apocalyptic experts to help us judge which ones would be the winning entries.
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- Dr Shini Somara
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- Prof Lewis Dartnell
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- Emma Stephenson
Dr Shini Somara is an advocate for STEM education and a mechanical engineer. She was host of The Health Show and has appeared in documentaries for the BBC, PBS Digital, and Sky. You can check out her work hosting Crash Course Physics on YouTube.
Prof Lewis Dartnell is an astrobiologist and author of the book The Knowledge: How to Rebuild Our World From Scratch.
Emma Stephenson has a background in aeronautical engineering and currently works in the Shell Foundation’s Access to Energy and Sustainable Mobility portfolio.
Currently sifting through the entries with the other judges of #makeyourideas with @raspberrypifoundation @_raspberrypi_
151 Likes, 3 Comments – Shini Somara (@drshinisomara) on Instagram: “Currently sifting through the entries with the other judges of #makeyourideas with…”
The winners
Our survivor is currently putting your entries to good use repairing, rebuilding, and defending her base. Our judges chose the following projects as outstanding examples of world-saving digital making.
Theme winner: Computatron
Raspberry Pioneers 2017 – Nerfus Dislikus Killer Robot
This is our entry to the pioneers ‘Only you can save us’ competition. Our team name is Computatrum. Hope you enjoy!
Are you facing an unknown enemy whose only weakness is Nerf bullets? Then this is the robot for you! We loved the especially apocalyptic feel of the Computatron’s cleverly hacked and repurposed elements. The team even used an old floppy disc mechanism to help fire their bullets!
Technically brilliant: Robot Apocalypse Committee
Pioneers Apocalypse 2017 – RationalPi
Thousands of lines of code… Many sheets of acrylic… A camera, touchscreen and fingerprint scanner… This is our entry into the Raspberry Pi Pioneers2017 ‘Only YOU can Save Us’ theme. When zombies or other survivors break into your base, you want a secure way of storing your crackers.
The Robot Apocalypse Committee is back, and this time they’ve brought cheese! The crew designed a cheese- and cracker-dispensing machine complete with face and fingerprint recognition to ensure those rations last until the next supply drop.
Best explanation: Pi Chasers
Tala – Raspberry Pi Pioneers Project
Hi! We are PiChasers and we entered the Raspberry Pi Pionners challenge last time when the theme was “Make it Outdoors!” but now we’ve been faced with another theme “Apocolypse”. We spent a while thinking of an original thing that would help in an apocolypse and decided upon a ‘text-only phone’ which uses local radio communication rather than cellular.
This text-based communication device encased in a tupperware container could be a lifesaver in a crisis! And luckily, the Pi Chasers produced an excellent video and amazing GitHub repo, ensuring that any and all survivors will be able to build their own in the safety of their base.
Most inspiring journey: Three Musketeers
Pioneers Entry – The Apocalypse
Pioneers Entry Team Name: The Three Musketeers Team Participants: James, Zach and Tom
We all know that zombies are terrible at geometry, and the Three Musketeers used this fact to their advantage when building their zombie security system. We were impressed to see the team working together to overcome the roadblocks they faced along the way.
We appreciate what you’re trying to do: Zombie Trolls
Zombie In The Middle
Uploaded by CDA Bodgers on 2017-12-01.
Playing piggy in the middle with zombies sure is a unique way of saving humankind from total extinction! We loved this project idea, and although the Zombie Trolls had a little trouble with their motors, we’re sure with a little more tinkering this zombie-fooling contraption could save us all.
Most awesome
Our judges also wanted to give a special commendation to the following teams for their equally awesome apocalypse-averting ideas:
- PiRates, for their multifaceted zombie-proofing defence system and the high production value of their video
- Byte them Pis, for their beautiful zombie-detecting doormat
- Unatecxon, for their impressive bunker security system
- Team Crompton, for their pressure-activated door system
- Team Ernest, for their adventures in LEGO
The prizes
All our winning teams have secured exclusive digital maker boxes. These are jam-packed with tantalising tech to satisfy all tinkering needs, including:
Our theme winners have also secured themselves a place at Coolest Projects 2018 in Dublin, Ireland!
Thank you to everyone who got involved in this round of Pioneers. Look out for your awesome submission swag arriving in the mail!
Website: LINK
