Can I enter a patented or patent-pending idea in this year's contest?
Yes. To help further protect your intellectual property, you may wish
to publish on the site only a short description of your idea instead of the full
entry. You may also wish to indicate patent status in the check-off box provided
on the Entry Form. You can also elect not
to publish you entry on the website-- however, this will prevent you from competing
for popular vote prize. Neither the primary contest sponsors (Tech Briefs Media
Group and SolidWorks Corporation) nor other contest sponsors and cosponsors are
responsible for the protection of intellectual property contained in any of the
entries, but the primary contest sponsors will take all necessary precautions
to ensure the confidentiality of non-published entries.
Can I enter the contest if I reside outside the United States?
Yes. However, eligibility to enter
is restricted to countries (and states) which do not outlaw a contest with the
prize value offered by this contest. For eligibility details, please see Rules.
Can I enter the contest with a description shorter than 500 words?
Yes. However, the more complete your
entry description, the better your chances of winning. Your visual materials
will also improve your chances of winning. See Tips.
How do you count words? My word count doesn't look as expected.
The word counter checks for spaces between words. You should paste your text from a plain text format (such as Notepad) to reduce the risk of invisible characters that inflate the word count. Because of issues with text from other document formats, we actually allow a small buffer of 515 words before we reject more text in the text input form.
Are entry ideas developed by a team or group eligible to compete?
Yes. While each entry must be made
under a single individual's name, that individual can represent a design team
or group as long as the individual has permission to enter for the group.
Can I enter the contest without providing image(s) to illustrate my entry?
No. At least one image is required to accompany the text. This could be a diagram, a drawing of the idea in application, or any other visual aid to help the judges. Entries without any associated images will be disqualified. The image(s) can be uploaded and submitted electronically with the Entry Form.
I would like to submit more than one image. Can I do that?
Yes. You can upload up to three separate images when submitting your entry.
Can I mail supplemental materials to support my entry?
No. We cannot accept samples, CDs, or any other materials. We can only accept the text and image(s) submitted when you complete your entry form online.
How many ideas or designs can I submit?
Per the Rules,
participants can submit one entry per category. Each entry should represent
a different design concept. Identical or very similar ideas in multiple categories
from the same entrant may be disqualified.
If the idea incorporates complex electronics, is it necessary to create drawings at the microcircuit level, or simply give an idea of what the mechanism would be designed to do?
The image(s) submitted with your
entry are intended to help the judges understand and visualize the design concept,
and thus should support your text description. They can be as detailed or simple
as you choose. The judges will be technical professionals, so schematics, specifications,
and other details should be meaningful in helping to convey the completeness
of your entry, but they are not required. (See Tips).
Is it possible to send photos of a prototype model in my contest submission?
Yes. Any type of image, including
photos of prototypes, can be submitted as long as they are in one of the valid
image formats indicated on the Entry Form.
Are any prototypes required?
No. Prototypes are not required.
Can I submit an Excel file?
No. Only entries with valid illustration formats will be accepted via the website.
May I submit a design idea that I submitted in a previous Create the Future contest?
Previous entries may only be resubmitted if there is an update or significant change to the design.
May I submit an entry that has previously won another contest?
Yes, unless it has won a prize of
monetary value. A entry that has previously won prizes in another contest prior
to entering the Create the Future design contest is ineligible to compete.
Updates or Edits
to Entries
Can I update or add something
to my entry?
If your description was incomplete,
we suggest you delete your entry and re-enter. You may do this by logging in
to the site with your email and password. Then you may resubmit your entire
entry. We cannot accept separate e-mail addendums or revisions.
Can I update my "Meet the Entrant" questionnaire responses?
Yes. You may log in to the website to edit this information from your entrant home page.
Can I change my "Meet the
Entrant" questionnaire responses without changing my page views count?
Yes. You may change your questionnaire responses and it will not change
your page views count. Adding more interesting content or responses
may increase your entry page views.
How do I delete
my entry?
You may do this by logging in to the
site with your email and password. The login link is on the upper right
on the website.
Qualification is a pre-filter on entries to verify they meet the contest
rules: One entry per category, at least one image attached in a valid
format, and a reasonably coherent and cogent description as judged by
contest administrators. Administrators wiill endeavor to screen
out inappropriate or incomplete entries before the judges receive the
entries.
My entry was declared "unqualified." Can I fix it?
You may fix it by signing in, deleting
the old entry, and reentering. Entries cannot be edited after submission
and qualification review. The most common reason for disqualifying entries
is failure to provide at least one image file in an acceptable format.
An entry may also be determined "unqualified" if it has already been
entered in another category of the contest by the same entrant or is deemed
frivolous by the administrators.
Some ideas for bringing your page
some traffic: Advertise your entry on blogs and bookmarking sites such as “del.icio.us”
and “stumbleupon.” Use interesting tags that attract attention,
but please make them relevant or the site administrators may adjust these for
you. Make sure the first few sentences of your published full entry or
summary are interesting and grab the casual site visitor. Include a striking
image. Your log files should show evidence of referral traffic to keep to the
spirit of this competition, otherwise your entry may be subject to manual page
view adjustment by the contest administrators. You may be challenged to
provide evidence of public web referrers at any time by the administrators.
What are unacceptable forms of entry promotion? What if I do something you don't find acceptable?
Unacceptable forms of self-promotion
include posting your entry in public forums where it is not relevant to the
discussion topic; using generic visuals that do not make clear that you are
linking to a specific contest entry; using the contest logo or other visuals
from the contest site for your personal advertisement purposes. Use of
bots and repeated reloading over extended periods of time is also unacceptable. Forms
of advertisement that lead to email complaints about entry promotion being “off-topic”
in forums/groups/mailing lists/sites will be investigated by the site administrators. Contestants
who use these methods may have their page views manually adjusted by site administrators
and/or and may have their entries hidden from public view on the site.
If I hide my entry, and then publish it again, do I keep my previous page views?
Yes. Your previous page view count will be maintained, unless your entry has been subject to manual page view adjustment due to suspicious activity.
What happened to last
year's "Top Ten Most Visited Entries " prize?
This year we wanted to try another
mechanism for popularity using a simple voting scheme, so there is no cash award
for the most visited entries.
How are
you measuring page views for the most visited entries?
We are tracking based on both time
of visit and visitor. We have an algorithm that looks for views by unique human
visitors within a time window. Any numbers that appear to be suspect or the
result of an automated process may be subject to manual review, and may be adjusted
for accuracy at any time by the contest administrators. You may be challenged
at any time to provide evidence of public page referrers on other websites,
to account for your page view count.
Why don't my page views increase automatically when I load my own page?
We update the entry page view statistics several times a day from a database, so you won't see updates on every page load. We also screen for repeat visits by the same person.
Do views of my uploaded image file count towards page views?
No, only views of your full entry details page are counted.
How do sponsors benefit from underwriting the contest?
Sponsors are supporting the contest
to help create opportunity and goodwill among members of the design engineering
community. Links within the site will help interested visitors and participants
learn more about sponsor products and services. Please visit them at the Sponsors
page.
Are NASA employees and contractors eligible to enter this contest?
Yes. NASA employees and contractors are eligible.
Can I still win if I’m not an engineer or a scientist?
I found something offensive on the site, in a questionnaire or in an entry. Can you please do something about it?
If you see something that is offensive, send us a note at createthefuturecontest@abpi.net . We’ll review it as soon as possible.
Does the use of specific design software or other tools influence the selection of winning entries?
No. Winning entries will be selected
solely on the basis of four criteria: innovation, manufacturability, marketability
and cost-effectiveness. Good textual descriptions and visuals will help communicate
these aspects of your design to the judges.
If you have other questions about the contest, please contact Contest Site Admininstration by sending an email to createthefuturecontest@abpi.net.
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