⚡ Brilliant Global Competition · 2026–2027

Build a smart city.

Block by block.

Drag-and-drop programming, real ESP32 hardware, and a path from your school's regional championship to the BGC Global Championship in Washington, D.C. You'll build four working smart-city projects, then bring them to life as a model.

What students build

Start Part 1 → Meet your kit

Grades 10–12 · no prior coding experience needed

Why you're here

This tutorial is the technology companion for the Brilliant Global Competitions, global STEM competitions where students apply technology, engineering, science, mathematics, and creative design to solve real-world challenges. The 2026–2027 theme is Smart Cities: Where Smart Vision Meets IoT-Driven Reality.

Students design and build a fully-functional Smart City model using real Internet of Things (IoT) sensors. National and Regional Champions compete at the Global Championship in Washington, D.C., with a Global Champion experience that includes a 3-day NASA workshop and visits to MIT and Harvard.

Your STEM teacher guides the urban-design and presentation pillars; these pages cover the tech half: the hardware in your kit, the block-based programming, and the projects themselves.

How the tutorial is organised

• Part 1 · Getting Started

  What is IoT? What's in your kit? Install the software, learn how blocks work, and write your first program.

  Start here

• Part 2 · Smart Agriculture

  Self-watering plant. Soil moisture, water level, pump.

  Build it

• Part 3 · Smart Parking

  Spot detection + automated RFID gate.

  Build it

• Part 4 · Smart Safety

  Fire and gas-leak detection with audible alarm.

  Build it

• Part 5 · Smart Temperature

  Automatic fan control + live temperature display.

  Build it

The four smart-city pillars

Each project maps to one of the four pillars that define real smart cities:

Pillar	What it covers	Your project
🌿 Sustainability: Smart Irrigation & Water Management	Water supply, irrigation, efficiency	Smart Agriculture
🚦 Mobility: Smart Mobility & Traffic Systems	Roads, parking, transit, gates	Smart Parking
🚨 Protection: Public Safety & Emergency Systems	Fire, gas, alarms, emergency response	Smart Safety
🌡️ Comfort: Smart Environment & Climate Monitoring	Air quality, temperature, climate-aware buildings	Smart Temperature

What you'll need

• Flowlence Code: free download, installed on your computer (Install guide)
• Brilliant Smart City Kit: ESP32 Plus board + the workshop sensors and modules (Meet your kit)
• A computer: Windows 10 or later with a free USB port

How each Part is structured

Every project Part follows the same three-step pattern:

1. Component lessons: meet each sensor or actuator one at a time, learn how it works and how to read or control it
2. Build the system: combine the components into a complete smart-city subsystem
3. Try the extensions: open-ended challenges to make the project your own (judges love these)

A word before you start

Take it step by step

When something doesn't behave the way you expect, slow down and look closer. Open the Serial Monitor, add a serial print block, and watch what your program is actually doing. That's how every engineer figures things out, and it's the most important skill you'll build.

Ready?

Start Part 1