Phase One of the Better Place Design Challenge is complete. We received tons of entries and had the difficult task of whittling the number of finalists down to 10. I encourage you to check out those finalists, as the next round of judging involves you. Yes you! The community’s vote counts for 25 percent of the total judging.

Here’s the deal: The finalists are currently building the prototype of the design they submitted, thanks to the hardware they received via the three sponsors, IAR Systems, Renesas Electronics America, and Embedded Computing Design. Those prototypes must be finished by the end of October. They will submit a video explaining how their design works, showing it in action.

That’s where you come in. Come back at the end of October to view the entries and cast your vote for which one should win the big prize ($6000US) and the second- and third-place prizes.

It’s clear that the contestants took the core of the challenge to heart, to make the world a better place. The entries include a personal healthcare monitor, a narrator for the blind, a skin cancer detector, and an agricultural rover. Check them all out and see which will get your support.