From left, Zhijie Zhu, Nikhil Pansare, Phillip Dupree, and Karen Ladenheim
Project Background
The goal of this project was to create a so-called "Distributed Destruction Mechanism" (DDM), capable of destroying a world landmark, for the evil villain "DrEd" (pronounced "dread"). The DDM would be placed in the vicinity of the landmark and, thus, would have to be camouflaged. By default, the DDM is in an ARMed state that creates fear and panic. The DDM can enter a disARMed state if two "Heroes" defeat a series of games that are incorporated in the Mechanism itself. To meet DrEd's specifications, the DDM must
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Our DDM
"The Sarcophagus of DrEd" was inspired by King Tut's sarcophagus in the Louvre museum in Paris, France, where DrEd has hidden a DDM as part of his plan to take over the world. In order to thwart DrEd and disarm this DDM, two players (or Heroes) must collaborate with one another to complete a sequence of Egyptian hieroglyph-themed challenges within 60 seconds. The details of this core functionality are outlined below:
King Tut transitions through the following emotional states as players progress through the game:
These emotional states are shown below in order (from left to right):
- Fear - red eyes, clenched mouth
- Hope - blue eyes, gentle smile
- Joy - green eyes, large grin
These emotional states are shown below in order (from left to right):
A timer controlled by a servo-motor depicts a fuse burning closer and closer to a bomb. Players lose if they do not successfully disarm the bomb in 60 seconds, when the spark reaches the bomb.
Interaction 1
Players must press and hold the hieroglyph button that corresponds to lit LEDs. Buttons are displayed on both sides of the sarcophagus, so two players are required to complete this challenge. The buttons include vibration motors that provide haptic feedback when pressed.
Players must press and hold the hieroglyph button that corresponds to lit LEDs. Buttons are displayed on both sides of the sarcophagus, so two players are required to complete this challenge. The buttons include vibration motors that provide haptic feedback when pressed.
Interaction 2
Once the correct combination of buttons is pressed, the players must twist King Tut's beard (an analog potentiometer)
so that it points to the pair of hieroglyphs they are pressing.
Once the correct combination of buttons is pressed, the players must twist King Tut's beard (an analog potentiometer)
so that it points to the pair of hieroglyphs they are pressing.
If the hieroglyph game is won three times, King Tut's sarcophagus will automatically open using a DC gear motor, linkage, and hinged door, as shown below:
Interaction 3
Both players must navigate their copper loops through the snake hieroglyph. Contact between the loop and hieroglyph results in a game reset for both players.
Both players must navigate their copper loops through the snake hieroglyph. Contact between the loop and hieroglyph results in a game reset for both players.
Players must align the magnets on their loops with Hall effect sensors after they have successfully navigated the snake hieroglyph. If this game is won, the DDM is disARMed and the players may rejoice!
Gems of Wisdom
- Make sure that circuits are easily accessible at all times to facilitate debugging.
- Communicate frequently with your teammates to stay up to speed on progress and avoid re-doing the same work.
- Make a preliminary BOM early on and order components ASAP, since shipping can take a while and it takes a nontrivial amount of time to physically wire and integrate your system, even if you understand everything on paper.
- When designing the mechanical system(s) for your project, try to think of every little detail as early as possible, and include it in your CAD model. If you're laser cutting parts, this ensures that you cut as much as possible using the laser cutter (and as little as possible using hand tools).
- Make an effort to keep your wiring neat and tidy. Messy wiring is a nightmare!
- Design your game to be as simple as possible to meet the project requirements. Remember you can always complicate the design later, after you have successfully implemented the core functionality.
- Create a game that maximizes your learning and minimizes repetition. For example, if you can get away with four buttons instead of eight buttons, use four buttons instead.
- Assume that anything can stop working, even if it was working earlier. Look at code, electrical components, measuring instruments, power supplies, and wire connections for sources of error.
- Remember to clear a shift register during initialization. This can be accomplished by writing a dummy byte of data or by setting the SRCLR pin of the shift register low for short period of time.