QNX has long powered critical systems in medical devices, factories, trains, robots, and over 275 million vehicles, guaranteeing not just that code runs, but exactly when. With QNX 8.0 now free for non-commercial use, the QNX team invites developers to explore what they can build without a predefined specification.
Participants are challenged to build projects that run on or target QNX 8.0. Ideas include building a robot that reacts in microseconds, writing unique drivers, porting beloved software to QNX, or creating essential tooling. The event offers free access to QNX SDP 8.0, QNX Developer Desktop, and the QNX Hypervisor for non-commercial use, along with free training courses. No specific target hardware is required; submissions can utilize QEMU or a Raspberry Pi 5.
Categories Competitors must choose one of the following tracks: * Robotics & Medical: Real-time applications where timing, safety, or reliability is critical. * Automotive & Mobility: Software-defined vehicle and other mobility applications. * Low-level Software: Board support components or device drivers built with the QNX Driver Development Kit. * Developer Tooling & Host Tools: Tools that facilitate building for QNX on the host (Windows, macOS, Linux) or target. * Open-Source Contribution & Ports: Porting existing open-source projects to QNX or contributing upstream to the QNX ecosystem.
Prizes There is a total prize pool of $50,000. Winners receive category-specific awards, including coffee chats with QNX executives (such as CEO John Wall), podcast features, blog and social media spotlights, and QNX swag. Additional bonuses exist for the Best Codelab/Tutorial, Best Use of QNX-specific Technologies, and Community Choice.
Submission Requirements Projects must be submitted via a public GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket repository created during the submission period. Submissions require source code, assets, build instructions, a text description, and a demonstration video under three minutes uploaded to YouTube. For Open-Source contributions, the URL of the upstream project and pull request must be included.