STMicroelectronics and Digi-Key Corporation Announce Winners of ST iNEMO™ Design Contest

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND and THIEF RIVER FALLS, Minnesota, USA - Electronic components distributor Digi-Key Corporation, recognized by design engineers as having the industry’s broadest selection of electronic components available for immediate shipment, and STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM), a global semiconductor leader serving customers across the spectrum of electronics applications, have announced Team McGill as the winners of the iNEMO Design Contest.

Each project in the competition contained an iNEMO Inertial Measurement Unit and was judged on the number of degrees of freedom (DoF) used from the 10 degrees of freedom available in total, the quality of its hardware and firmware/software, the design’s novelty, its use of daughter boards, and the final project’s ease of use and appeal of its user interface.

ST’s iNEMO is a unique evaluation and development tool that offers 9-axis MEMS sensing of linear, angular, and magnetic motion, along with pressure and temperature sensing, managed by the STM32 32-bit microcontroller. iNEMO is in stock and available for purchase on Digi-Key’s US and Canadian websites.

Team McGill, a group of students from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, utilized the iNEMO evaluation board and 9 embedded degrees of freedom for their winning quad-copter design. The team met all of the competition requirements and their quad-copter design demonstrated the usefulness and enhancements that sensor technologies offer to electronic design.

Team McGill will receive a $5,000 cash prize and an all-expense-paid trip, including airfare and accommodations for three nights, to Europe to visit the ST iNEMO Development Labs in Catania, Sicily, Italy.

Coincidentally, a design team from Stanford University also designed a very competitive quad-copter that challenged Team McGill. For their second-place efforts, Team Stanford won a $2500 cash prize.

Digi-Key Corporation focuses on providing customers with superior service, which includes product selection and availability, on-time delivery, and responsiveness. Using leading-edge processes and state-of-the-art technologies, Digi-Key serves a global customer base from its 600,000 square foot facility in Thief River Falls, Minnesota, USA.

About STMicroelectronics
STMicroelectronics is a global leader serving customers across the spectrum of electronics applications with innovative semiconductor solutions. ST aims to be the undisputed leader in multimedia convergence and power applications leveraging its vast array of technologies, design expertise and combination of intellectual property portfolio, strategic partnerships and manufacturing strength. In 2010, the Company’s net revenues were $10.35 billion. Further information on ST can be found at www.st.com.

About Digi-Key Corporation
As one of the world’s leading totally integrated, Internet-based distributors of electronic components, Digi-Key Corporation has earned its reputation as an electronics industry leader through its total commitment to service and performance. Digi-Key is a full-service provider of both prototype/design and production quantities of electronic components, offering more than two million products from over 470 quality name-brand manufacturers at www.digikey.com. A testament to Digi-Key’s unparalleled commitment to service, North American design engineers have ranked Digi-Key as the #1 Most Preferred Distributor (UBM/EETimes Distributor Customer Evaluation Study/June 2011). With global sales for 2010 surpassing $1.5 billion, Digi-Key’s single location in North America is one of its greatest assets. Additional information and access to Digi-Key’s broad product offering is available at www.digikey.com.