This week, I focused on figuring out how exactly we would implement the machine. I discussed a lot with the team to make a final decision on how we would deal with the input. The rest of the machine stayed about the same as how it was in the proposal. However, the input has changed a lot more ‘realistic’ after taking in feedbacks from our instructor and TA.
The general idea was that using a button takes away a lot of the fun that players feel when playing poker. For example, the act of throwing cards when folding and pushing chips when betting. So, we decided that we would need to use both motion detection and weight sensors to allow the user experience to be as real as possible. It would definitely be a burden on our workload, but we thought it would be manageable as long as the dispenser does not give us a headache.
That is why I searched a lot to see what would be the best motor to use for the purpose of our project and how it should be integrated. Because I have never used a dc motor before (unlike servos, which I am used to), it took me a while to decide which motor would be sufficient. Not too weak, but not unnecessarily strong. Having an unnecessarily strong motor would be a huge down factor for power consumption and weight, so we took some time to decide.
Now, we have all the components ordered, and will be ready to start building.
Since motor control will mostly be PWM, I skimmed through past projects I did that involved PWM and l reviewed the relevant lecture slides (from embedded systems).
Because I haven’t actually coded yet, I can say that I am slightly behind schedule, but I am confident it wouldn’t be too much of a problem, as getting the motors to run is not too difficult (at least, based on past experience).
We recently got our hand in an Arduino, so I hope to start coding in there and connect it to the motors to get it running. Then hopefully, we will get the dispenser case printed and attach the motors.