Project

# Title Team Members TA Documents Sponsor
29 Augmented Beer Pong Mat
Area Award: Sports & Recreation
Adam Seppi
Alexandra Wleklinski
Chance Coats
Vignesh Sridhar design_document0.pdf
design_document0.pdf
final_paper0.pdf
other0.pdf
proposal0.pdf
Alex Wleklinski - wleklin2
Chance Coats - cccoats2
Adam Seppi - seppi2

Augmented Beer Pong Mat

Problem: Beer Pong has remained relatively unchanged for decades.

Solution: Our product intends to add flair and an aura of the future to beer pong. We wish to augment the game we've all come to know and love by adding sights, sounds, and useful game-tracking features. Some features seek to dazzle users with LEDs illuminating the in-play cups, and explosive sounds notifying players of hit cups. Other features look to improve the game by tracking player turns and keeping tabs on players who are “heating up” or are “on fire.”

Our plan is to use an array of sensors and LEDs embedded within what we'll call the "game mat" to track shots which land in or near cups, while a central game controller manages the flow of the game automatically (tasks ranging from tracking previous player shots, determining cup hits and misses, and driving the LEDs on the mat). There is also potential for stats tracking.

Our product is an invention with the only competitors being those with lights and no game logic/stats keeping

Piezoelectric disks – for cup hit detection (testing will confirm but est. 6-8 needed)
IR/Photoresistors – for made cup (if someone removes the cup) 20 needed
LED’s – 20 plus 3 for each player = 32
AA Batteries (Possibly D’s needed) – 20 IR sensors + 32 LED’s + Microcontroller should be supplied adequately by the use of batteries based on rough projections
Microcontroller – for use in game logic and stats tracking
Small speakers connected to the microcontroller to play noises related to gameplay.

EDIT:

In addition we have some more modules to consider:

1. Using a DC boost converter not only so the MC and LEDS can work at a higher voltage, but so the game can operate with a reasonable voltage drop when the batteries discharge.
2. If we use non-rechargeable batteries use a joule-thief to extract more charge from our batteries
3. If we use rechargeable batteries use an under-voltage lock-out to make sure the batteries do not discharge below a predetermined voltage.
4. Also that D batteries in parallel seem like the best fit. (Rather than AA.)

Also some new features that seem feasible:

1. Adding a 7-segment display to show the champions current win streak.
2. Adding a button to switch to the next player if say you miss the table completely.
3. Adding a low-charge regulator in the battery, maybe just an LED.

Propeller-less Multi-rotor

Ignacio Aguirre Panadero, Bree Peng, Leo Yamamae

Propeller-less Multi-rotor

Featured Project

Our project explored the every-expanding field of drones. We wanted to solve a problem with the dangers of plastic propellers as well as explore new method of propulsion for drones.

Our design uses a centrifugal fan design inspired by Samm Shepard's "This is NOT a Propeller" video where he created a centrifugal fan for a radio controlled plane. We were able to design a fan that has a peak output of 550g per fan that is safe when crashing and when the impeller inside damaged.

The chassis and fans are made of laser-cut polystyrene and is powered using brushless motors typically used for radio-controlled helicopters.

The drone uses an Arduino DUE with a custom shield and a PCB to control the system via Electronic Speed Controllers. The drone also has a feedback loop that will try to level the drone using a MPU6050.

We were able to prove that this method of drone propulsion is possible and is safer than using hard plastic propellers.

Project Videos