1. Concept
I was inspired by the reading on switches and pushbuttons to get creative with switches. I was especially inspired by the part about several custom switches that, when combined, turn on a light. I wanted to have a fun kind of switch, and integrating a game into the project was a good choice for that.
While I’ve been involved in constructing a circuit to play tetris a long time ago, I had the idea of adapting it so that instead of using hands to press buttons to rotate a shape, move a shape left, move a shape right, or move a shape down, the user could use their feet. It may bring an interesting experience in the way of bringing a bigger challenge for playing tetris. It could also be a fun way that engages users in the process of switching on a light through a game. It could be used in a scenario, where, for example, the light has automatically turned off after undetected vigorous motion in the room, as someone has been studying for an extended period of time, and to take a break, the person could play the tetris game using feet (while resting hands).
The switch is in the form of a pushbutton, with two shoe holders (containing aluminum foil on one side of its surface) with four ground boards (containing aluminum foil on one side of its surface). When a shoe holder comes into contact with a ground board, the switch is closed, otherwise, it should remain open.
2. Highlights
I encountered two major obstacles in the attempt to set the switches/pushbuttons to work:
- Initially, I planned to use copper wires to extend the connection between the alligator wires connected to the breadboard, alligator wires connected to the ground boards, and alligator wires connected to the shoe sholders. However, I realized that uncovered copper wires can come into contact with each other and disrupt the ideal circuit flow I had in mind. I decided to extend the connection with just alligator wires.
- Initially, I had just two shoe holders with four ground boards. I planned to have each shoe holder used for contact with a pair of ground boards. However, this posed the problem where both ground boards associated with the left shoe holder could incorrectly perform the same action on the shape (go down). Thinking that the functional, original circuit had four independent pushbuttons, I cut out the 2 shoe holders to make 4 shoe holders. I tested this and it was solved the issue!
3. Video
4. Reflection and ideas for future work or improvements
Overall, all my goals were achieved through this project: integrating a game into the switch, having several custom switches that combine to turn on a light, as well as functional switch, buzzer, potentiometer, etc. I definitely gained valuable experience in learning how to use the LCD and how to adapt circuits for purposes I would like.
I would love to integrate ideas for a switch that would involve two people and teamwork. This could be done by directly extending the current project, so that one person has the options to rotate a shape or move a shape left, while the other person has the options to move a shape right, or move a shape down. This could be a great way to help foster cooperation and further engagement with the hopefully creative switch.