This year, the three finalist teams for the IEEE Educational Mega-Challenge: Smart Cities were given a wider remit in that they were not constrained to just using RAIN RFID technologies. Teams from Florida Institute of Technology, a combined team representing R & N Systems Design (from Christian Brothers University and the University of Memphis), and Washington University in St. Louis rose to the challenge and provided solutions that addressed farming, tool tracking, and RFID-enabled roadways respectively. Washington University in St. Louis won with their “Pathway to Smart Infrastructure: Hybrid RFID” solution after delivering a well-rehearsed presentation and surviving a rigorous cross-examination by a panel of ten industry judges.
