Category: Team Status Reports

This week, the team’s main focus is on the construction and testing of the PCB board for the hall effect sensor matrix. In addition, we completed the software APIs and logics to deal with the event when a new piece placement is detected by the hall effect sensor, which marks completion of the major software features (gantry movement of opponent’s placement and board update given a new physical piece placed) .

Due to the spacing of the PCB design, we have to solder on multiplexer without header pins to ensure the minimal distance required between the surface and the electromagnet for the movement system to function. Such restriction lead to escalating difficulty in soldering on components without shorting, slowing down the testing process and destroying multiple components during the process. To solve this problem, we decided to decrease the size of the board for the final presentation, while Sizhe made improvements on the original PCB design to be used for the final demo product.

Next week, we will focus on constructing and assembling the final parts once we receive the new improved PCB boards.

Our most significant risk is still the usage of PCB for the HE sensor matrix.

Design wise, Shuailin had a small change regarding the feeding system placement due to magazine with spring requires too much force to put around 40 go pieces inside. Sizhe had a small change regarding HE sensors multiplexer reading sequence schema to improve reading speed.

Schedule wise, the team is still behind for integration. However, Sizhe and Shuailin did most of the integration and grunt work that does not require gantry. Zipiao had made great process in software development.

Next week, since Zipiao is back, we will focus on integration with the gantry system to achieve actual general Gomoku game flow.

Our most significant risk is the still the PCB component that we decided to add to our system. Moreover, we have to postpone the building of xy motor system because Zipiao was not able to return to US this week.

We currently do not have any design change and we had a deeper understanding of our project by diving into the individual components and assembling them.

Schedule wise, as Zipiao was unable to return in time, we assigned Zipiao to do the webapp first during last week. And Sizhe and Shuailin was able to finish certifying that there are no interference problem between locking and detection system.

Next week, since Zipiao is likely coming back, we will mainly focus on integration with the gantry system and decide on the actual dimension of the outer housing.

Our most significant risk is the new PCB component that we decided to add to our system to better fit the go board setting and avoid interference with the electro magnet. Since this is a new component and our team has little prior experience with PCB design and fabrication, we face the challenge of ensuring its compatibility with our existing system architecture and meeting our performance standards.

To mitigate the risk associated with the new PCB component, we have tasked Sizhe with learning AutoDesk. Moreover, we are researching online and have taken inspiration from successful PCB designs in similar projects.

For changes in the design, we decide to use permanent magnets as the locking mechanism instead of electromagnets due to budget constraint and circuit ( PCB) complexity. There is no major change to our plan in other areas. Looking forward, we are also actively building the x-y motor system. We hope that we will be able to control the x-y motor system by the end of next week.

Schedule wise, we plan to first implement software web app first in case the team cannot physically meetup for integration. Moreover, we need to catch up with things that were postponed due to the time costed on magnetic lavation device.

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A was written by Sizhe Chen,  B was written by Shuailin Pan and C was written by Zipiao Wan.

Part A:

One key aspect of our solution is accessibility. We recognize that not all users may be technologically savvy or have access to high-speed internet connections. Therefore, our product will prioritize the ease of use, ensuring that individuals from diverse backgrounds can easily engage and have fun with it. Moreover, different users around the world might have different experience with go-like game. Those with an Eastern background may be more familiar with Go, while others may have more experience with traditional chess. Our product needs to consider these factors and provide varying levels of assistance accordingly.

Part B:

The automated networked Gomoku game board we’re developing will not only promote Asian culture but also unite different cultures around the globe. By using eye-catching technology, our solution offers a friendly, engaging, and accessible experience, which is able to transcends the language barrier and introduce Asian culture to players worldwide. Moreover, with the networking capability, our game board is able to connect and unite players who enjoy Gomoku from all around the world no matter the country or culture they are from. Through this innovative approach, our product aims to not only popularize Gomoku but also celebrate cultural diversity.

Part C:

For our prototype and product, we are using plywood as the chassis for the board and the shell for the go pieces. Since plywood is durable, and with correct oil sealing treatment: pretty long-lasting, we can ensure the longevity of our product to reduce unnecessary waste. Moreover, since plywood is a renewable material unlike plastic, we can minimize our products environmental impact.  However, the heavy usage of magnets and circuitry will likely encourage rare earth metal excavation and contributes to waste and pollution.

 

This week, we mainly test and debug the magnetic levitation device.

Things we Learnt:

The movement during magnetic levitation without magnetic interference is pretty robust and stable as long as there are no sudden stop.

The maglev device can adapt to a wide range of weight and magnetic magnitude for the go piece.

The maglev device requires a very high x-y accuracy to pick up magnet from rest for levitation.

The interference to and from the maglev device to surrounding magnet is larger than expected: around 130 mm to ensure stableness during testing.

The current main risk is that according to the interference distance, the grid cell size will be much larger than we expected. We will have to test for locking mechanism together with the maglev device to finalize the grid cell size, and change the board size or game size accordingly as mitigation.

For next week, we will mainly test for locking interference with maglev, assemble the gantry and see if it can reach the desired accuracy for consistent maglev pickup.

Our most significant risk is still the feasibility of magnetic lavation device, as the feasibility testing failed for the device we bought this week. We definitely need to have a functional device as soon as possible as we anticipate the arrival of a new existing commercial device.  Our main focus next week will still be testing out the magnetic lavation device and start building the software component of the system.

For the design, we moved from building a magnetic levitation kit to an existing commercial product due to the complexity of troubleshooting the existing device. We made this change because debugging the existing device may take effort and time beyond our expectation and we are unsure if it will function as expected even if we get the device working.

Schedule wise, we have to postpone the feasibility testing to next week and we plan to start doing software as early as next week.

 

A was written by Sizhe Chen, B was written by Shuailin Pan and C was written by Chiev Wan.

Part A: Our device can have a positive impact to the well-being of the public by acting as a great  entertainment tool. Since playing Gomuku online may not be  readily available to the elders, maGomuku would a great alternative way to have fun with their friends. Safety wise, we aim to create a device that is easy to use so that users do not have to interact with the magnetic levitation device itself which might cause safety issue. We also aim to use compo

Part B: Similar to Go, Gomoku originates from Asia and is representative of the Asian culture in board games. Moreover, due to the simplicity of Gomoku compared to Go, it is also much easier to learn and can help promote Asian culture to a wider demographics (especially children).

Part C: Our design uses commonly used electronic components like stepper motors, Arduino Uno, motor drivers and magnetic levitation kit, all of which has mature manufacturing and supply chain power all around the world, making it easy to produce and distribute. Other than electronics part, we will likely adopt wood, plastic and permanent magnets, which are also common materials that can be easily acquired at anywhere, making the consumption of our project easy.

Our most significant risk is the feasibility of magnetic lavation device, which have to be resolved through hands on testing. Unfortunately, we have to delay the feasibility test because our expected maglev kit test unit delivery was delayed. Thus, for this week, we have to mainly focus on researching the similar solutions for our individual sections (gantry, detection, feeding).

Currently, all of our systems aside from maglev seem promising from the research and documentation we have found. Thus, there are no plans for changes to our design so far.

Schedule wise, we have moved the feasibility testing for the maglev kit from this week to next week.