This week, we formalized and integrated our subsystem designs to make a planned final vision, which was captured in our Design Report. Until now, a lot of our ideas had been hypothetical. This report forced us to rigorously analyze tradeoffs and defend our design with a mathematical basis. In addition, we updated our Gantt chart to adapt to logistical challenges and developed some prototypes for the flapper subsystem.
The following paragraphs discuss how we are considering factors of public health, safety, and welfare, social, and economic. Part A was written by Aiden, Part B was written by Vivian, and Part C was written by Bing.
A. Globally, there has been a shift towards screen-based, single-player entertainment. Our solution addresses the downsides of this shift directly by making our playing experience physical and social.
Our game is intuitive and accessible. Our desire for simplicity enables an experience that anyone can quickly pick up and enjoy, with intuitive inputs such as button presses and a bat swing. The components we use are easily accessible and affordable, and there is a plethora of open-source projects online that can be used for additional context. Our product is also designed to have a small footprint, which enables users to easily set up our board in a variety of environments, such as classrooms, arcades, community centers, and even homes. — Aiden
B. Our product solution is designed to create a game experience that is accessible, familiar, and enjoyable for a broad range of users. Because games are often played in shared social settings, cultural values such as inclusivity, fairness, and ease of participation are important considerations taken into account within our design. The system is made to be playable by anyone, regardless of prior sports experience or familiarity with similar arcade games. In our game, this is illustrated through simple physical interactions, visual feedback, and straightforward scoring logic so that the product can be understood quickly without long instruction manuals. By lowering barriers to entry, the game better serves users and supports a fun community bonding experience. — Vivian
C. From the standpoint of environmental considerations, we of course plan to limit any unintended adverse affects that it may have on the environment. Although we have good reason to believe that the main purpose of our product would not have direct negative effects on the environment, we still take into consideration the power consumption, building materials, and longevity of the product. In terms of power consumption, the system should use the same amount of power as a typical electric appliance based on our design, which we believe is reasonable. We also plan to construct the main body of the system out of composite wood, which is highly sustainable. We understand that the electrical components of the gantry, microcontrollers, and sensors rely on materials that are obtained through environmentally destructive ways, however, the use of those components is strictly necessary and shall only remain as such. Finally, our product is designed to be played over and over again for as long as possible, and thus waste should be minimal. — Bing
