Wire loop game penalizes for touches by shrinking your wand

We really like this take on a conductive wire maze game. It’s the result of a 48-hour hackathon in Belgium which required that all projects stemming from the event use an Arduino. We think [Jan] and [Kristof] made perfect use of the prototyping device in the time allotted. The event organizers thought so too because this took top prize.

As you can see, the gaming area is two-sided, and consists of some copper wire bent into a maze. There’s a wand made out of a PVC pipe with a loop of braided cable running through it. The loop surrounds the copper track and each player needs to get from the beginning to the end, touching checkpoints along the way without coming in contact with the track.

Pretty standard, right? Well there’s a twist. At each checkpoint the Arduino signals a servo motor in the wand to make the loop smaller. Add to that a penalty/reward system: if you touch the track, your loop gets smaller and your opponent’s loop grows larger. Don’t miss the head-to-head action after the break.

This reminds us of that wire-based cave racer from a few years back.[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8CjX9vgBoE&w=470]

[Thanks Toon]

Comments

  1. Kristof says:

    Nice to see our project here 🙂
    But there’s a litle mistake in this article… The ring doesn’t shrink at a checkpoint… it GROWS to it’s initial size… It starts automatically shrinking when you start.
    If you touch the track, then the opponents ring will grow. So your bad playing makes it more easy for your opponent.

  2. biozz says:

    god i remember this project from a book i got when i was like 8 X3

    oh the memories!

  3. Rob R. says:

    Awesome!

    Love to see a new take on an old project

    Well done! And amazing job in such a tight time frame

Speak Your Mind

*

Related Hacks in arduino hacks

  • Garden sensors measure soil moisture and greenhouse temperature
  • More pins and more power with a DIY Sanguino
  • A much easier take on an Android garage door opener
  • UnoJoy makes your Arduino play well with Xbox 360 or PS3
  • RC car controller and receiver replacement