The Journey Experience is a extension of the Journey Car in a previous project. Its an attempt at trying to get more meaning behind the game and increase player cooperation compared to its previous iteration.

To reach the goal of creating cooperation I needed to create two 3pi controlled systems that are controlled by wixel chips that would allow for remote control of the 3pi movements. There would also need to be a camera system so that each player could see one another

Above is a picture of the main course. Constructed into three sections: Meeting, Puzzle, Conclusion. In the meeting section the 3pi robots would meet one another and enter the second section together. Once the door opens they would be able to complete a puzzle of creating a ramp. When the ramp is assembled they would climb it to reach the next area. The final area is the conclusion of the “journey” they have commenced and a message would be stated.

The door system of the first area is powered by an arduino system that is activated by a photoresistor and moved by a motor system.

Arduino Code

Here is the schematic of the arduino set up

This is the what the puzzle ramp structure would generally be composed of. The robots would have to work together to move these structures to the correct position. All these pieces were laser cut and specifically made such that they can move up the ramp without getting stuck from any inconsistencies

This is the end structure ramp that the 3pi robots would go down on completion of their experience and have a message at the end.

YouTube / Michelle Ma – via Iframely

Journey car is a controllable RC car game in which two players come together with the objective of knocking down beacons located throughout a specified course. One player drives the vehicle while the other player controls the wireless camera view. Both players view the same wireless camera feed and communicate with each other to knock the beacons down.

The general idea is based on the popular Playstation Video game, “Journey”, in which two players work together to reach the mountain. In the video game, there is no formal communication except for cryptic noises. From this game idea, we were inspired to give players an experience of not being able to physically see each other and be looking out from the perspective of the car.

Here is the car system:

The Journey Car is a wearable gear in the sense that the person has the entire control systems on their person. Everything is packaged and powered by batteries. We made sure to make this experience as ready to go as possible so that people can pick up and play.

Steven Ji was in charge of creating this packaging system by studying how google cardboard systems were created. He went through half a dozen iterations to reach this finalized design.

The wearable gear contains batteries to power the receiver for the wireless camera and also powering the Fatshark goggles. Fatshark goggles are an instrument that allow the user to see video from the wireless camera. Below are videos that show the packaged system in action.

Here are how the mobile viewer and control systems function:

YouTube / Chia Chi – via Iframely

YouTube / Jenna Choo – via Iframely

Below is a picture of the car system with the wireless camera mounted onto the front. Roberto Andaya was in charge of making sure the car system worked and was thoroughly constructed to a certain strength.

The camera mount is laser cut acrylic that is specifically designed to be attached to the servo underneath it such that it is secure and able to rotate.

A problem with the initial designs was the sheer amount of force created by the RC car system. Cardboard as a whole would not do and neither would Acrylic. We created a polycarbonate base and top system that about 20 times stronger than Acrylic. The base system was to ensure the system was held together. After some experience with the vehicle we also found that the RC car could tip over so a top piece was added to protect the equipment.

Below is the 2.4 GHz radio controller system that was used to control the RC vehicle and the Camera servo to turn it. This system consists of a HK-GT2 controller sending a signal to the receiver unit called a HK-GT2b which sends the commands to the controlling units.

Feedback:

During our first prototype presentation other members of the class were excited for the project but their main issue was that it felt too limited to its environment. We had been set on an idea of the RC car solving an indoor puzzle but the class was more interested in going the maximum speed that the RC car could go. With a room so small for presenting max speed was not possible. After that we decided on creating an outdoors speed game.

The Game.compressed

Plant link is a plant watering reminder system. It detects the moisture of the plant and sends a text message to your phone to water it.

The link can account for different plants and will send texts based on the best time to water the plant and by how much. You do not want to over or under water the plant at any point as there is a high chance of death.

What I really like about this system is that it gives more life to your plant in terms of communication. Sure if you see the plant turning yellow you know its dying but at that point it might be too late. With this system you have little messages like “water me” and “I am thirsty” that give you more of an emotion reason to water your plants.

I have a plant of my own and I don’t know how it has lasted so long but I get scared that it will die from unknown reasons. This system would really help alleaveate those fears that I and others have.

For more information visit :

Kickstarting an Internet-of-Things for your garden

The Copenhagen Wheel is an MIT creation that easily creates a smart bike. Most other smart bike iterations deal with adding attachments all over the bike. What the wheel does is bring many different smart attributes into one whole system.

The Wheel has a built in motor that outputs power when you slow down your speed, it can connect to the internet and your phone allowing for sensor feedback such as speedometers and calorie counters.

What gets me the most interested is the fact that its all in a wheel. The only thing you must do mechanically is switch the wheel in the back and you get all of these benefits! Other ones require attachments and big batteries that make the bike fr too bulky.

For more information visit:

Transform your bicycle into a connected e-bike (VIDEO) – Internet of Things Event

Snooz is a Kickstarter that has met more than its $100,000 dollar goal by 3 times. It is wildly in demand because it deals with something all humans must need: Sleep.

Snooz is a special fan that just deals with making a continuous noise to drown out any surroundings that can disturb your sleep. You can control it by clicking buttons or an app on your phone to give it the sound level of your choice.

Being at CMU sleep is a vital piece to survival and the fact that this can make my whole day better is why I feel that it is one of the better physical computing creations.

For more information visit their kickstarter page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/snooz/snooz-sound-sleep?ref=category