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Vivian’s Status Report 4/4

This week I got the paddle system working for our demo, which was my main task. I set up the system, tested the paddle, and confirmed that the mechanism could perform the swing motion as expected. I also ordered more breakbeam sensors and a GPIO expander so we can continue building the scoring system. In addition, I am planning on refining the under-game system for the ball routing underneath the board.

For verification, I have already run basic functional tests to confirm that the paddle responds to commands and works consistently enough for demonstration. Next, I plan to run more structured tests on paddle repeatability, under stress loads and scoring sensor detection accuracy. I will analyze these results by measuring whether the paddle actuates consistently and whether the breakbeams correctly detect scoring events with minimal false triggers. This will help verify that my subsystem meets our design requirements for responsiveness and reliable score detection.

For validation, we will test the full gameplay flow as a team: swing input, paddle swing, ball scoring, sensor detection, and scoreboard update. This will help us determine whether the system works as intended for the overall game use case.

My progress is on schedule since I was able to get the paddle working for the demo. Next week, I hope to continue refining the under-game system, integrate more breakbeams, do more complete testing of the paddle/ scoring system, and also get the basic audio up and working.

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Aiden’s Status Report for 4/4

What did I accomplish?

I assembled a linear actuator (1 axis of the gantry) and designed and CAD modelled pockets which have a slot to embed our breakbeams in them. 

 

Am I on schedule or behind?

I feel on schedule with our latest Gantt chart. While I didn’t get to programming the linear actuator (gantry), I was pleased with the progress we made on the under-table routing and pocket design.

 

What do I hope to complete in the next week?

I hope to program the gantry to move in a straight line and mount a magnet to it. I also hope to print and test the pockets and finalize the design.

On the verification of my systems
I have contributed to a lot of the subsystems, and the one that I am owning, the pitch, is still awaiting its core component — the gantry. I just finished assembling the gantry and have yet to verify it.

Another core component of the pitch is the “coupling mechanism”, which includes everything in the scope of the ball and getting it to move with the gantry under the table. At first, our design included a magnet that we would linearly retract. Our first ball design was a steel puck with a plastic cover on it, as we feared the weight of a full ball would be too much for the flipper. Our main test was a drag test with the ball, where we had the ball above a piece of the surface material and dragged it with a magnet below. From our testing, we concluded that the puck experienced too much friction, and we changed to a ball once we realized that the flipper was strong enough to hit it effectively. We also tested a few different strengths of magnet and settled on one that held the ball strongly enough so that it stayed coupled while undergoing massive acceleration changes (by dragging the magnet in aggressive paths and speeds), yet not too strong so that it was difficult to decouple the ball with the flick of our fingers (replicating a flipper striking it). The balls rolled and thus didn’t suffer from friction like the pucks.

Much of my contributions have been physical thus far, namely the game board. This required little formal testing. We needed to ensure the game dimensions passed the eye test and that the board felt strong enough.