Project Proposal	Project Planning	Project Documentation	Final Project Presenation

Project Concept...

Background

In the Library, we want to encourage students to learn through play. The first thing to do is to let them see what are the things that they can make. We want to marriage between engineering and play. We began to explore interesting projects that students will excited into making and yet able to learn some digital fabrication with it.

Rubberband gun is interesting but it will cover on mechanism and no electronics. Nerf gun equivqlent is fun but it might be a little dangerous as the bullet can hurt people.

In order to encourage students to tinker, I want to build a project that is cheap,fun and able to generate interest among the youth. I have decided to make a laser gun target game for them. It will involved various digital fabrication techniques like 3d printing, laser cutting and electronics.

 

 

Laser gun

The idea & consideration

I want something that is fun and easy for my students to make. The gun should be able to fire a beam. I must find the laser pointer is safe for the students. I must do my research on safety. http://www.laserpointersafety.com/laser-hazards_head-eyes/laser-hazards_head-eyes.html offers some information.

The target circuit should be flexible enough for future expansion. LCD display, blinking lights or sound can be used to notify that the target is hit. Attiny will be more difficult for future expansion. The maximum distance between the gun and the target should be less that 2 meters or else the laser will become too big and the target easily hit.

Using a buzzer as sound will simplify the design. Connecting a speaker to it will require programming the tone. The battery to power the gun should not be too bulky as that will afect the user's experience.

The other way to gain more ideas is to see what other people are building. One of the resource is from Instructables. It offers many well documented projects. We can learn from the features and adapt to our design.

 

How it works?

The player aim at the centre of the target and squeeze the trigger. This will activate a laser beam and if the laser beam hits the centre of the target, the microcontroller will control a servo and a buzzerand the target will fall and the buzzer sound to signify a hit. The targer will move back to its upright position.

Things to consider

1. What kind of laser to use?
I have decided to use the laser found in laser pointer. Most likely 5mW which is common.

2. What will be used to detect the laser beam?

Photo transistor or IR. IR will make the circuit more complicated as it needs to compare the signal sent and received. So I will use Photo transistor instead.

3. How do I know that the target is hit? Generate sound? LCD display? Target fall?

LCD would have add up to my cost. Target falls sounds good.

 

3. What is the mechanism that will make the target fall?

I can use a servo motor. If my servo is small, the target cannot be too heavy.

Project:-

1. 3d print the target
2. Laser cut the box
3. Laser cut the gun
4. Fabricate arduino
5. Vinyl to decorate

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