2021 highlights

Young people aged 8 to 18 from all over the world took part in do your :bit 2021. They came up with amazing, innovative solutions that worked towards the Global Goals and solved problems facing the world. 

Our judges chose winners from six global regions - Africa, Asia & Pacific, Europe, Latin America, Middle East and North America - in the three challenge categories. Find out about the winners, runners up and their entries below.

To see more from the winning projects, including entry videos and additional photos, read the news articles from September 2021 here

8-14 year olds, micro:bit solutions

Young people were challenged to design and make a solution using the micro:bit in this category.

Africa

Nigeria

Marvelous created and coded an amazing tech solution to help prevent kidnapping. Marvelous was concerned with previous incidents in Africa and designed, built and tested a device that could help. The device uses a transmitter and receiver to send distress signals and alert parents to danger.

Asia and Pacific

Taiwan

Cheng-En, Ko-Hsin and Zi Qing realised that rapid climate change was contributing to rising water levels, putting birds who previously relied on the river for their habitats in danger. Using the micro:bit, the ‘Best birds guardian’ senses rising water and pulls the birds' nest to safety on the river shore.

China

Jingyu Xiao liked seeing plant walls in his city but wanted to protect them from the frequent typhoons that hit. He created a smart living wall that could automatically retract and extend according to the weather forecast. He also added a soil moisture sensor to ensure the plant wall was appropriately watered.

Europe

Italy

Theo, Harry, and Timofei wanted to create an efficient and affordable solar panel to make reusable energy more appealing. Using the micro:bits light sensors and servos, their solar panel moves to always face the sun, improving productivity and efficiency.

Latin America

Costa Rica

Arieh and Samuel built a prototype to work towards achieving Global Goal 13: Climate Action. Together they created a 3D printed solar-powered electric boat. They created 2 prototypes and tested them on the water before choosing the most effective elements of each one for their final design.

Middle East

Iraq

Mustafa and Mand created the ‘Angry Tree’, a device that monitors trees and alerts humans to issues such as dry soil, high heat, and attempted tree felling. They recognised the importance of trees in the battle against climate change and created a complex solution to the problem of tree destruction.

North America

USA

Clara built the innovative ‘Hermes’ shoe that charges your phone as you walk. The shoe encourages people to exercise and increase their step count by charging their phone at the same time - improving mental health and generating renewable energy!

USA

Kenna and Margot created a portable filtration device, dedicated to achieving Global Goal 6: clean water and sanitation. In their creation, a micro:bit controls UV LEDs that work to sterilize drinking water. The device is also solar-powered - making it affordable and portable.

8-14 year olds, paper prototypes

In this category, we asked young people to create a paper prototype to explain their idea.

Africa

Nigeria

Rajunor, Theophania and Jinelle thought up a solution to alert people to environmental changes that could cause asthma attacks. The team discovered that asthma patients suffered more in cloudy seasons and so came up with the idea that uses a temperature sensor and alert system to solve the problem.

Asia and Pacific

Australia

Indiana wanted to help her family members who struggled with severe anxiety. She created ‘Total Relax: Massage box’, a wearable solution that measures your heart rate and reminds you to relax.

Europe

United Kingdom

Brodie, Charley and Zoey created a paper prototype for ‘The Healthy micro:bit’. This device reminds you to go outside for some fresh air and vitamin D every 90 mins. The solution records how long you have been outside and suggests activities you could take part in.

Latin America

Uruguay

Emily, Melanie and Valentina created a huge model to illustrate how their idea, a safe environment for bees, would work. The device measures temperature and humidity and counts the number of bees visiting.

Middle East

Lebanon

Jana drew plans for a reusable, virtual facemask. Our do your :bit judges were impressed with the amazing creativity and innovative thinking Jana brought to her entry to solve the very real problem of disposable mask waste.

North America

USA

Zong was inspired by the tentacles on an octopus to create his paper prototype for a soft drain cleaner. A micro:bit would control four motors that can delicately move around intricate spaces. The device was designed for cleaning drains but Zong thought it could also be used for medical surgery.

15-18 year olds, micro:bit solution

15-18 year olds were challenged to design and make a solution using the micro:bit.

Africa

Tunisia

Ghassen created an innovative solution that uses braille to allow visually impaired people to share text messages. The do your :bit judges were impressed with the well-constructed prototype and solution for people who would not be able to participate in an activity that many of us take for granted.

Asia and Pacific

Malaysia

Ahmad, Mifzal and Muhammad invented an ‘Oxygen Percentage Analyser’ to detect deforestation in a more efficient way than using satellite images. The creation uses two micro:bits - one placed in the forest, and one with the forest ranger who will be able to constantly monitor the oxygen levels of the forest.

Europe

Ireland

Aoife and Emma built a micro:bit creation to encourage physical activity and limit screentime. ‘Exercise is the key’, which makes use of the micro:bit accelerometer rewards physical activity with 15 minutes of screentime. The girls identified that using the micro:bit allowed them to make their creation small, and therefore more practical for the user.

Latin America

Uruguay

Sebastian wanted to create something to help people stay healthy and hydrated. The ‘Smart water bottle’ uses micro:bits for two functions - one to measure the intensity of the sunlight and remind you to shelter and stay hydrated, the other checks the water level in your bottle and reminds you to take a sip.

Middle East

Lebanon

Mahmoud and Yasmina worked together to create ‘G.A.N.T - Gas and Noise Trapper’. The device protects people from noise and air pollution. G.A.N.T uses sound and gas sensors attached to the micro:bit to measure smoke and noise levels. If it detects dangerous levels the micro:bit triggers a servo to shut the window.

Lebanon

Ali devised a large-scale automatic tree farm that uses a network of micro:bits to control and maintain the trees’ growth. He envisaged that the farm could be used to grow trees to replace those lost in bushfires.

North America

Canada

Alicia and Esmée created ‘Micro:Calm’, an all-in-one micro:bit device that provides users with multiple coping mechanisms to deal with anxiety. This included a fidget toy, emotion check-in, box breathing and a game. The girls hoped this could be used by people of any age and work towards achieving Global Goal 3 - Good health and well-being.

Runners up

8-14 years old, paper prototype category

Africa

Martha, Gift & Mary, Nigeria - a mosquito alert system that releases insecticide to protect its user.

Daniella & Victoria, Kenya - social distancing sensor to monitor crowds during the pandemic.

Asia and Pacific

Wan Ahmad Faris, Malaysia - a cooking oil container that measures the amount of oil used.

Sameen, Lowriance & Niva, Australia -a car made of eucalyptus leaves to protect koalas from bushfires.

Europe

Sophie, Verity & Lilly, UK - the ‘Shell Cam’, a camouflaged wildlife tracker to monitor endangered species.

Lily, UK -‘Moody Bear’, a bear that provides positive messages to help people feeling lonely.

Middle East

Mustafa, Fatma & Deniz, Turkey - a solar-powered highway lighting system.

Dalal, Haya & Noura, Lebanon -‘The Para Feel’ helping paralysed people to express their feelings.

North America

MiLeigh, USA - the‘Courage create’ feelings selector to support people with their mental health.

Noah & Alexander, USA - a package carrier drone to help reduce the amount of delivery trucks on the roads.

8-14 years old, micro:bit solution category

Africa

Oumayma, Tunisia - a facemask that moves to cover your mouth when you sneeze.

Mariem, Tunisia - the‘Safe:bit cap’ to prevent you from falling asleep when whilst driving.

Asia and Pacific

Wu Tao, China - the ‘Smart Care Butler’, a device that supports elderly people living alone.

Europe

Andrej & Nina, Slovakia - a device that recycles bottles in return for sweets.

Adit, UK - a smart village that alerts its residents to natural disasters and saves energy by automatically turning lights off.

Latin America

Hannah, Costa Rica -‘Water to the Rescue’, a water saving device that monitors how long you’re using water for in many household activities.

Rafael, Antonio & Vinicius, Brazil - a people counter controller to avoid overcrowding in public spaces during the pandemic.

Middle East

Ali & Mohammed, Bahrain - the ‘Thermo hat’ that monitors temperature and warns users to have a break and drink water when it gets too hot

Amr, Saudi Arabia - the micro:bit greenhouse that can take care of plants and fish

North America

Aidan, USA - an in-car eC02 measurer that keeps drivers aware of the c02 emissions

15-18 years old, micro:bit solution

Africa

Farah, Tunisia - a micro:bit necklace that monitors and discourages shouting.

Peace & Gracemary, Nigeria - a micro:bit device to detect blocked pipes and reduce flooding.

Asia and Pacific

Chi Kei & Ho Tung, China - an intelligent parcel cabinet that disinfects its contents.

Yuxi & Yiyun, China - a smart walking stick to help people with visual impairments.

Europe

Marius, Lithuania - an automatic bottle and can sorting recycling bin.

Emanuele & Barnabas, Hungary - a micro:bit counter to measure meals intended for refugee camps.

Latin America

Miguel & Valentina, Colombia - a micro:bit water purification system using affordable and easy-to-find resources.

Felix, Peru - a programmable lighting slalom course to encourage exercise.

North America

Victoria, USA -’The Meat Machine’ which weights how much meat you are consuming.

Julia, USA - a micro:bit device that to monitors the type and amount of fish caught.

Special Mention

Okorafor, Gladsome and Chibuike, Nigeria

The do your :bit judges wanted to give a special mention to this team in Nigeria for creating a device that they could easily see being used in real life. Okorafor, Gladsome and Chibuike created the 'Headcount micro:bit' to help reduce overcrowding.