Global Problems, Programmable Solutions
In partnership with DigiKey, Microchip Technology presents the PolarFire FPGA Design Contest 2026, a global platform for engineers, students, and innovators to turn their ideas into real hardware solutions.
Build at the intersection of AI acceleration, edge computing, robotics, and embedded intelligence using PolarFire FPGA platforms. Showcase your creativity, prove technical mastery, and compete globally for prizes and recognition as you help shape the future of intelligent systems.
Turn your ideas into real-world solutions and compete for exciting prizes.
Registrations open on 1st August 2026!
Problem Statement
Contest Tracks
Participants can choose one of the following tracks to implement their proposed solution.
Track 1: FPGA Explorer Track Using PolarFire® SoC Discovery kit
Focused on embedded FPGA design, RISC-V® applications, sensor interfacing, video processing and lightweight edge AI applications
Track 2: Edge Intelligence Track Using PolarFire SoC Icicle Kit
Focused on advanced edge computing, Linux® Operating System (OS)-based embedded systems, AI/ML acceleration, networking and intelligent real-time applications
Track 3: Acceleration Track Using PolarFire Splash Kit
Focused on high-performance FPGA acceleration, high-speed interfaces, video pipelines, compute acceleration and data-intensive applications
Awards
All finalists will receive a Certificate of Excellence in recognition of their outstanding innovation and technical skill.
Each track will have a Winner and Runner-Up, selected based on design quality, innovation, and performance metrics.
💰 Top Honors
Grand Winner: $2,000
Runner-Up: $1,000
Best overall innovation across all tracks: $1,000
Meet the Judges
Keith Rowe
Keith is a principal field applications engineer specializing in Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) and FPGA System-on-Chip (SoC) solutions at Microchip Technology Inc., where he also contributes to the company’s Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) Special Interest Group. With over 25 years of experience working with FPGAs and SoCs, he currently supports customers across Florida and South America, helping them accelerate innovation using Microchip’s diverse programmable portfolio. Keith is passionate about the broad possibilities of programmable design and the creativity engineers bring to solving complex problems. As a judge for this inaugural FPGA Design Challenge, he looks forward to seeing the unique solutions participants bring to life.
Y.C. Wang
Y.C. Wang supports the convergence of industry, maker and academia through the DigiKey Academic Program. His passion is to build the next generation of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) innovators in the industry. He believes that hands-on hardware skills are valuable for engineers to acquire early in their ECE education. Y.C. brings more than a decade of experience in semiconductor companies, particularly within the FPGA industry and has deep connections with academic institutions across the globe.
Explore FPGA
PolarFire® SoC Discovery Kit
The PolarFire SoC Discovery Kit is a low-cost, open-source development kit powered by a quad-core, RISC-V application-class processor. This device supports Linux® and real-time applications, a rich set of peripherals and 95K low-power, high-performance FPGA logic elements.
PolarFire® SoC Icicle Kit
This low-cost development platform is an excellent solution for evaluating the five-core RISC-V microprocessor subsystem with its innovative Linux® OS support, real-time execution and low-power capabilities, along the rich set of peripherals available on the PolarFire SoC FPGA.
PolarFire® Splash Kit
This kit enables general-purpose evaluation and development for the PolarFire FPGA. The kit includes Gigabit Ethernet RJ45, PCIe®, USB and LPC FMC connectors and a PolarFire 300K LE FPGA with onboard DDR4 and SPI Flash memory.
Organized by
PolarFire FPGA Design Contest
PolarFire FPGA Design Contest
For any questions or support, email us at fpgacontesthelp@microchip.com