Star Trek-inspired medical kit wins design challenge

A Star Trek-inspired medical examination kit has won element14’s ‘Sci Fi Your Pi’ design competition, sponsored by Pi Trading. 

The competition invited 25 individuals from around the world to create devices inspired by their favourite science-fiction films, television shows and books using the Raspberry Pi 2 Model B+ from element14.

The winning design, Meditech, created by element14 member Enrico Miglino of Spain, features a multimeter and the Pi 2, which together measure a variety of biometric signals. 

Inspired by the Star Trek series, Meditech is a portable multitool examination kit measuring heart rate, body temperature, blood pressure and blood glucose. It can also assess eye health and do body surface image analysis. Enrico plans to take Meditech into production and is currently working on pre-production of the first 10 units.

Three other finalists were identified as part of the challenge. Michael Hahn (US) also drew inspiration from Star Trek to build a scientific tricorder that can evaluate the environment’s atmospheric conditions, temperature and humidity. 

Finalist Joey Thompson (US) built a QuadCop — a low-cost, custom-built quadcopter that performs security screenings — inspired by the Terminator series. 

Frederick Vandenbosch (Belgium) created a PiDesk, which leverages the Raspberry Pi 2 Model B+ to turn an ordinary work desk into an interactive series of touch and motion controls, similar to the one featured in the Tron franchise.

Miglino’s project won the top prize — $500 worth of sci-fi movie memorabilia, including an actual Boba Fett bounty hunter helmet used in film production. Meditech was chosen by a panel of expert judges including James Adams, the director of hardware engineering at Pi Trading.

“For decades, science-fiction films, television shows and literature have inspired fans all over the world to bring their most ambitious project ideas to life, and the Raspberry Pi is not much different,” Adams said. 

Competitors were judged on the innovativeness of their designs, as well as the level of inspiration drawn from the world of science fiction. To aid in their designs, each competitor received a full suite of Raspberry Pi accessories from element14, including the PiFace Control & Display, Raspberry Pi B+ and Raspberry Pi A+ boards and PiFace Digital. Competitors were also given a free licence for CadSoft Eagle, the market-leading PCB design software, to execute their projects.

To view content from all 25 Sci Fi Your Pi challengers, as well as a gallery of downloadable movie posters inspired by the finalists’ projects, visit www.element14.com/scifiyourpi.