Team IOT Basketball: Carlos Roca, Michael Gurdak

Published April 13, 2017

Hot Shot Hoops

No need to keep track of the number of baskets you make when shooting hoops. Hot Shot Hoops does the work for you.

IntermediateFull instructions provided6 hours2,570

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Particle Photon

Microcontroller that does it all

PIR Motion Sensor (generic)

Sensors used to track motion of basketball through hoop

Solderless Breadboard Half Size

LED (generic)

Visual for detected motion from PIR Sensors

Jumper wires (generic)

Male/Female Jumper Wires

Software apps and online services

IFTTT Maker service

Used to publish tracked shot data to Google Sheets for graphing purposes.

Particle App

Used to track motion and "made shot" events

Google Sheets

Made shot data stored and graphed here

Hand tools and fabrication machines

Hand Bender

Used to bend metal strips for attachment to backboard

Impact Driver

Used to fasten metal strips to sensor configuration

Drill Tap

Used to create hole for wire pass-through in sensor configuration

Story

For all the people out there who love the sport of basketball, keeping track of all the made shots can be a real hassle. The score in the final minutes of the game can be crucial to determining who wins. We have developed the solution to this dilemma. Our project allows someone to easily measure and keep track of baskets made in an accurate way. With just two photons, two power sources and two PIR sensors, the score will never be forgotten again.

Our score keeper is as user friendly as it comes when it comes to the initial setup. To begin the setup, simply attach the photons to separate breadboards. Look at the circuit diagram which will be included below in the schematic section. Then simply attach the PIR sensors as displayed on each breadboard. The PIR sensors have a wide range of few, which will mess with results it not corrected. In order to correct this problem we facilitated the use of PVC piping. We cut out a small portion of the piping and taped it onto the breadboard of the PIR sensor. This limited it's view and allowed for accurate sensing in a singular direction. Each sensor setup was anchored to a small piece of wood and fastened to the backboard with metal straps and duct tape.

Once the piping portion is completed the devices need to be placed in such a way that both motion sensors can't go off if you miss a basket. In our case one motion sensor was placed on the top of the basket pointing down into the net. The other one was placed on the left bottom side of the backboard directed just under the net. This meant that the likelihood of a miss being counted was sufficiently minimized to get accurate results. Below are pictures illustrating the sensor setups.

Sensor Setup (Lower PIR)

Sensor Setup (Upper PIR)

PVC piping direct PIR's viewing range to basket

Overall Set-up

We also included led lights on each breadboard configuration. They were included to further indicate whether or not a basket was made outside of getting a message. If both led's light up within about three seconds, the basket will count. This was also to show if the program was running correctly. When the PIR sensor is activated the led should light up shortly after. If the led doesn't, the sensor may not have picked up the motion and or the setup may be flawed.

The number of made shots was tracked through the events console built into the Particle app. In addition, the If This Then That (IFTTT) automation application was utilized to send "made shot" data to Google Sheets for graphing purposes. The IFTTT setup for the action is shown below:

IFTTT setup for sending "made shot" data to Google Sheets

Below is a video of Hot Shot Hoops in action, along with a screen capture of the corresponding tracked data in the Particle app.

Detection of "baskets made" from video

The graph below shows the sensors working together to generate data of total shots made over time. If both sensors go off, the graph illustrates the result, in this case being basket made. The graph also show that both sensors have to go off within about two seconds of each other in order for a basket to count. If they don't occur in that time the program resets again. This was done to limit the possibilities for error.

Total shots made over time

Code

//PIR Sensor (Top of Backboard)

int ledPin = D0;                // Establish pin for the LED
int inputPin = D1;               // Establish input pin for PIR sensor
int pirState = LOW;             // Assume no motion detected at start
int val = 0;                    // Variable for reading the pin status

 
void setup() {
  pinMode(ledPin, OUTPUT);      // declare LED as output
  pinMode(inputPin, INPUT);     // declare PIR sensor as input
 
  Serial.begin(100);
}
 
void loop(){
  val = digitalRead(inputPin);  // read input value
  if (val == HIGH) {            // check if the input is HIGH
    digitalWrite(ledPin, HIGH);  // turn LED ON
    if (pirState == LOW) {
      // we have just turned on
      
      pirState = HIGH;
      Particle.publish("Motion_PIR_Top","Motion_detected"); //Publish event when motion detected
    }
  } else {
    digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW); // turn LED OFF
    if (pirState == HIGH){
      // we have just turned off

      pirState = LOW;
    }
  }
}

//PIR Sensor (Bottom of Backboard)


int ledPin = D0;                // Establish pin for the LED
int inputPin = D1;               // Establish input pin for PIR sensor
int pirState = LOW;             // Assume no motion detected at start
int val = 0;                    // Variable for reading the pin status
int score=0;                    // Counter variable for shots made
int other_sensor=0;             // Used for delay between both sensors
int this_sensor=0;              // Used for delay between both sensor
 
void motion_track_score(const char *event, const char *data){
    other_sensor=millis();}  //Used to track time of motion event from top PIR

void setup() {
  pinMode(ledPin, OUTPUT);      // declare LED as output
  pinMode(inputPin, INPUT);     // declare sensor as input
 
 Particle.subscribe("Motion_PIR_Top",motion_track_score); //Subscribe to motion of top PIR
  
  Serial.begin(9600);
}
 
void loop(){
  val = digitalRead(inputPin);  // read input value
  if (val == HIGH) {            // check if the input is HIGH
    digitalWrite(ledPin, HIGH);  // turn LED ON
    if (pirState == LOW) {
        this_sensor=millis();  //Used to track time of motion event of bottom PIR
      
      if (abs(other_sensor-this_sensor)<=2000){  //If time between events < 2 seconds, shot is made
       score=score+1; //Increment shot counter
       Particle.publish("Basket_Made", String(score)); //Publish event and shot counter
      }
     
      // we have just turned on
      
      pirState = HIGH;
     
    }
  } else {
    digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW); // turn LED OFF
    if (pirState == HIGH){
      // we have just turned off
      
      pirState = LOW;
    }
  }
}

Credits

Carlos Roca

1 project • 2 followers

Michael Gurdak

1 project • 1 follower

Hot Shot Hoops

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Software apps and online services

Hand tools and fabrication machines

Story

Schematics

Circuit Schematic

Final Setup Photon

Code

PIR SENSOR (Top of Backboard)

PIR SENSOR (Bottom of Backboard)

Credits

Carlos Roca

Michael Gurdak

Comments

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Hot Shot Hoops

Hot Shot Hoops

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Software apps and online services

Hand tools and fabrication machines

Story

Schematics

Circuit Schematic

Final Setup Photon

Code

PIR SENSOR (Top of Backboard)

PIR SENSOR (Bottom of Backboard)

Credits

Carlos Roca

Michael Gurdak

Comments

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