Previous PA Raspberry Pi Competition award winners
Our annual PA Raspberry Pi Competition promotes STEM education by challenging schoolchildren to invent systems that could benefit society using their engineering and coding skills.
Here's a look back at the ingenious projects that have won the competition in past years.
2023: Accelerating the energy transition
In 2023, we challenged students to develop ingenious solutions in response to the theme: accelerating the energy transition. Entrants were challenged to ‘innovate to accelerate the energy transition’ and come up with an invention that could help to either reverse the effects of climate change or respond to the challenge of providing affordable energy.
The winners of 2023's competition were:
Solar panels to generate heat to save water and energy, in response to the current cost of living crisis.
Notification system, using a light sensor to detect when a light is on, to remind people to turn off lights at breaks and lunchtimes at school.
Room Environmental Monitor Infobot to reduce their school’s energy use and carbon footprint. The Infobot measures a classroom's temperature and light level and warns the user when levels are above a certain threshold.
A submarine to extract natural and renewable electricity through the use of thermal energy from the seabed and converting it into electricity.
A system to improve the efficiency of domestic and industrial solar panels. The team calculated the optimum angle(s) at which panels should be fixed throughout the day using hyper-sensitive phototransistors which are rotated by two stepper motors.
A drain turbine to manage water usage. The turbine can be installed into pipes, and as water flows down drains, it spins the turbine linked to a rotary encoder, and the amount of water usage is shown on an accompanying app.
A prototype using a solar panel to power a data centre and to extract the heat, redirecting energy to heat a local swimming pool. This solution enables small businesses to generate revenue whilst reducing their carbon footprint as well as making substantial savings on heating costs.
Smart Pingu device which uses temperature and humidity sensors in the Pingu device to alert users if any appliances are switched on
2022: Innovations to save the planet
For our tenth anniversary, we put the year's theme to a public vote, asking teachers, students and our partners what they think would be most inspiring. And they chose: innovations to save the planet.
As the UN shares a bleak outlook on climate change, the need to act quickly on sustainability has never been more apparent. So, for the 2022 PA Raspberry Pi Competition, we challenged 8- to 18-year-olds to design technology that would help make the world a more sustainable place.
The winners of 2022's competition were:
2021: Creating a positive human future for everyone
For the ninth competition, we challenged 8- to 18-year-olds to design technology to help create a positive future for everyone as we come out of an unprecedented period of uncertainty.
COVID-19 has been a once-in-a-generation challenge, but we’ve seen inspiring examples of where it’s catalysed the best of humanity and unlocked our inherent ingenuity. So, we asked the teams to imagine a world where we can:
- Develop a cleaner, most sustainable world
- Be better prepared for the unexpected
- Interact safely and effectively, whether at work, study or leisure
- Support the health and wellbeing of everyone
- Get urgent supplies into the hands of those who need them most.
The winners of 2021's competition were:
2020: Designing the sustainable city of the future
Entrants to the 2020 competition were tasked to use their ingenuity to create a positive human future by designing the ‘sustainable city of the future’. Teams were asked to imagine a world where, for example, habitats are protected, travel is simple and pollution free or food is sustainably sourced with minimal waste.
The winners of 2020's competition were:
2019: Transforming experiences of travel and transport
Entrants to the 2019 competition were tasked to think innovatively, inspire change and use their ingenuity to transform experiences of travel and transport.
The winners of 2019's competition were:
2018
This year, we challenged school children and college students to use the credit-card-sized, highly capable Raspberry Pi computer to produce innovations to help save the planet.
The winners of 2018's competition were:
2017
The winners of 2017's competition were:
2016
The winners of 2016's competition were:
2015
The winners of 2015's competition were:
2014
The winners of 2014's competition were:
2013
The winners of 2013's competition were:
Explore the rest of the competition
