Published August 29, 2016 © GPL3+

Electronic Egg Toss Game

The classic picnic game is messy, but this version will let you practice indoors.

BeginnerShowcase (no instructions)1,256

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Punch Through LightBlue Bean

Retain packaging material for easier creation Also an empty container or plastic Easter egg

Software apps and online services

Punch Through Bean Loader

Arduino IDE

Story

Inspiration

I was having fun with my new Bean and its accelerometer. I didn't have all the hardware I needed for the project I really wanted to build, so I made this cute little project first. It is an easy out-of-box project with minimal hardware needed.

The Game

The classic picnic game involves two rows of contestants. Partners toss an egg from one side to the other. At the end of each round any partners with broken eggs are eliminated the lines are moved further apart. The last pair remaining wins.

Building the egg

I used an empty prescription pill bottle, but any small container that you can secure the Bean in will do. The packaging foam was just the right size for the pill bottle, but you may need to use hot glue to secure in a different type of container. If using a plastic Easter egg, be sure to add a window (i.e. drill a hole) to see the Bean's LED. The bean can be programmed wirelessly while it is secured in the egg, so you are finished with the construction.

All the hardware needed for your electronic "egg"

Programming

The Bean is programmed over Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). You can use an appropriate iPhone or Android phone (with BLE) or PC or iOS computer with BLE. The Bean is Arduino compatible. Whichever platform you choose, you can get the appropriate programming software from Punch Through.

Playing the game

Once the electronic egg "breaks", you will need to reset it it. You can do this most easily by just reloading the program. Alternatively you can remove and reset the battery, but you don't even need to open the egg to reprogram it.

egg toss

egg toss

Arduino

This code uses the built in accelerometer to judge when the "egg" is broken. It ignores accerlation along the major axis because eggs are much stronger in that direction.
When it detects that the acceleration has reached the breakage threshold, the LED is turned on to indicate game over.

Initializations
Line 12 maxAccel - maximum acceleration detected along x & y (ignore z acceleration)
Line 13 glow - level to set the LED. Turn on the LED after it breaks
Line 16 Set the accleration range to +- 8g

Sensing
Line 22 Get the accelerometer reading
Lines 25-27 Determine the magnitude of accerlation not along z-axis (rms method)
Lines 29-32 Update breakage state

Display
Lines 34-35 Display breakage state and set update rate

/*
  This code mimics an egg toss game using the Bean's onboard accelerometer and
  LED. It only considers the X & Y acceleration components as eggs are much
  stronger along the central axis
*/

// define breakVAl for xy Accel that will "break" the egg
#define breakVal 100

AccelerationReading accel;
uint8_t maxAccel = 0;
uint8_t glow = 0;

void setup() {
  // Set accleration range to +- 8g
  Bean.setAccelerationRange(8);
}

// Always compare current accleration to max accelration.
// Alert on maximum level
void loop() {
  accel = Bean.getAcceleration();

  // Evaluate acceleration
  uint8_t xA = (abs(accel.xAxis)) / 2;
  uint8_t yA = (abs(accel.yAxis)) / 2;
  uint8_t xyA = sqrt(xA * xA + yA * yA);

  if ( xyA > maxAccel )
    maxAccel = xyA;
  if ( maxAccel > breakVal )
    glow = 110;

  Bean.setLed( glow, glow, glow);
  Bean.sleep(50);
}

Credits

Carol Chesney

5 projects • 9 followers

Mechanical engineer and teacher

Electronic Egg Toss Game

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Software apps and online services

Story

Inspiration

The Game

Building the egg

Programming

Playing the game

Code

egg toss

Credits

Carol Chesney

Comments

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Electronic Egg Toss Game

Electronic Egg Toss Game

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Software apps and online services

Story

Inspiration

The Game

Building the egg

Programming

Playing the game

Code

egg toss

Credits

Carol Chesney

Comments

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