Some of the best hardware ideas start with a small annoyance: a camera screen you can’t see while filming yourself, a presentation you can’t pace, a name you can’t quite remember.
The Global Innovation Contest 2026 drew 255 project entries from makers around the world, and one category, the Life Hacker Award, was built around exactly this kind of everyday friction. This list brings together all seven Life Hacker winners, plus three more award-winning builds that make daily life a little easier. Every project links to its full build on Hackster.io, so you can dig into the details and make your own version.
1. Pocket-Sized Wireless Viewfinder for Ricoh GR
Life Hacker Award · by 小张
The everyday problem: Shooting with a compact camera is great, until you’re the one in front of it.
The hack: An StickS3 becomes a pocket-sized live-view monitor and remote shutter. It pairs with the camera over BLE and reconnects automatically, streams the viewfinder to its own screen, and lets you half-press to focus and fully press to shoot. Rotate or mirror the display for selfies and vlogs. It currently works with the GR IV series.
Built with:
- M5Stack StickS3
-
Ricoh GR camera
2. M5WatchClicker: The Slide Clicker That Taps You Before You Run Over
Life Hacker Award · by Tetsuya SAITO
The everyday problem: Every talk comes down to two questions: “How much time do I have left?” and “Next slide, please.” Answering either one means looking away from your audience.
The hack: An M5Stack StopWatch turns into a presentation remote and talk timer that fits in your palm. Swipe the round screen to change slides; it pairs as a standard Bluetooth keyboard, so there’s no app to install. A ring drains from green to amber to red as time runs down, and the device vibrates silently at 5 minutes and 1 minute left.
Built with:
3. Face Blind Assistant: A Wearable Memory Aid for Social Moments
Life Hacker Award · by Maker Studio
The everyday problem: Not everyone finds it easy to recognize faces and remember who’s who.
The hack: Built around an M5Stack CoreS3 and worn as a badge, it recognizes people, lets you search for them in natural language, and stores relationship context along the way. As with any face-recognition build, it’s also a good reminder to think about consent and privacy.
Built with:
4. M5ChromaDial Magnifier: Light Your Work from Any Direction
Life Hacker Award · by K.Yama-2010
The everyday problem: A magnifier with a fixed light casts shadows in exactly the spots you need to see, like around tiny solder joints.
The hack: An M5Stack Dial is paired with a ring of 29 RGB LEDs around the lens. Turn the dial to adjust brightness or sweep the light around the ring to change its direction, and pick any color from a color wheel on the touchscreen. The creator uses it regularly while soldering fine-pitch connections.
Built with:
- M5Stack Dial
- NeoPixel lighting
5. Joy-Mo-Bat: A Handheld Joystick Mouse and Macro Pad with a Screen
Life Hacker Award · by TsuyoTake
The everyday problem: A desk full of shortcuts, switching between devices, and a mouse you can’t always reach.
The hack: Joy-Mo-Bat folds a joystick mouse and a screen-equipped macro pad into one handheld device. It supports BLE and USB HID, air-mouse control, quick device switching, configurable macros and OTA updates, and even has a few mini-games for downtime.
Built with:
6. Weather Clock: See the Next 12 Hours of Rain at a Glance
Life Hacker Award · by HamsterZamrai
The everyday problem: Checking whether it will rain means picking up your phone, unlocking it, opening an app and scrolling to the hourly forecast.
The hack: An M5Stack AtomS3 shows the time, current conditions and the day’s high and low, while a 24-LED ring shows the hourly chance of rain. Press the button to switch between the AM and PM forecasts.
Built with:
- M5Stack AtomS3R (latest version of the AtomS3 used in this build)
- WS2812 addressable LED strip
- 3D-printed base
7. Pitatto Laundry Dispenser: Detergent Measured by Weight
3rd Prize · by NANANA
The everyday problem: Recommended amounts differ between brands and measuring-cup markings vary, so many of us just eyeball the detergent and softener, even though too much or too little keeps them from working properly.
The hack: Dial in the number of scoops on the StopWatch’s round touch screen and tap once. Two M5Stack Unit Watering pumps dispense the detergent and then the softener, while a Unit Mini Scales weighs each pour. Because it doses by weight, it stays accurate even as pump flow drifts.
Built with:
- M5Stack StopWatch
- 3D-printed frame
8. Wi-SUN Power Monitor: Make Your Home’s Energy Use Visible
Best IoT Application · by rin_ofumi
The everyday problem: You want to know how much electricity you’re using, but getting data out of a smart meter is hard, so most people rely on third-party services.
The hack: An M5Stack AtomS3 with a Wi-SUN module, a low-power wireless standard used in smart meters, talks to the meter directly and saves the usage history. It then sends the data via ESP-NOW to remote M5Stack screens showing live readings and a bar chart of past use. You’ll need a meter that supports Wi-SUN.
Built with:
- M5Stack AtomS3
- Wi-SUN module
9. VAMeter Edu: Real-Time Voltage and Current in a Browser
Educational Impact Award · by Yuichiro Kobayashi
The everyday problem: In a science class, getting from measuring a circuit to understanding it takes too many steps: measure, download a CSV, open Excel, import, graph, and only then interpret.
The hack: The M5Stack VAMeter creates its own Wi-Fi network and streams voltage and current to a browser, so students see a live graph on an iPad, a Chromebook or a classroom display, with no cloud account or student app. It’s a contest prototype, and the iPad and Chromebook demos currently run through a temporary Windows bridge.
Built with:
10. FestiviTie: The Bow Tie That Lights Up the Party
Life Hacker Award · by Bastiaan Slee
The everyday problem: Not every life hack has to be practical. Every maker, the creator argues, deserves a signature outfit that people recognize at meetups.
The hack: An M5Stack Morse Matrix, an 8×8 LED display, is stitched into a silver tie, with a string of 40 LEDs adding a glow. It scrolls text or plays pixel-art animations like a snowman or a cocktail, and you change them from a web page over Bluetooth. Bluetooth stays on only for the first 30 seconds after power-up, so nobody can rewrite your message mid-party.
Built with:
- M5Stack Morse Matrix (coming soon)
- 40-LED string
Ready to Build Your Own Life Hack?
Inspired by what you’ve seen? Most of the projects above run on M5Stack devices you can pick up today. Shop the M5Stack products featured in this list →
Curious what else the contest turned up? Browse all Global Innovation Contest 2026 winners →
We can’t wait to see what you build for the 2027 contest.