For this project, we had two days to create something using what we had learned during this introductory week on basic electronics.
We decided to focus on the idea of building simple games, and after a few hours of discussion we came to the conclusion of constructing a floating platform. The platform was attached to four wooden columns and cotton strings connected to four motors. When connected to a power source, the motors would pull and release the strings, unbalancing the platform and causing a ping-pong ball to move inside it.
The objective of the game is to guide the ball into the opponent’s hole by using the platform’s motors and overcoming the obstacles.
Building the device proved to be quite challenging, and the use of motors was ambitious. After many hours of work, we arrived at a functioning version, although it still required some adjustments to be fully refined.
Throughout the project, we faced several doubts. The most important one was understanding how to reverse the polarity of the motors, without any computation,in order to allow the player to pull and then release the strings. The solution came from our professor, John, who suggested: “Why don’t you use a battery as a controller to operate the motors?” With batteries in hand, the problem was solved.
