Finalized Concept:
My finalized concept is to construct an Arduino Radar Sensor and make a game out of it! Essentially, I would have a bunch of random items all over the desk and it’s the user’s job to find the treasure in this pile of mess within a certain amount of time.
The only threat is, there is a radar constantly moving back and forth around a servo motor trying to detect the user. If the radar detects the user, and they are within firing range they would lose! However, if the user manages to find the correct piece of treasure before being noticed and within the time limit then they win! They would compete with each other to try and get the treasure at the fastest time possible!
Arduino:
For the Arduino, I was going to implement a Servo motor. I would make this motor move back and forth at a fixed speed and the angle at which the Servo motor rotates would be sent to p5js which would route to the visual representation of the radar.
Then I would mount the ultrasonic sensor onto the Servo motor. The distance that the user is from the sensor would be sent to p5js and translated in the range of the map and be drawn onto the radar. If the user is detected within some range then it would trigger the losing mechanism.
For the losing mechanism, I though I could incorporate a solenoid and it would essentially knock some mini model of a human, indicating they got shot and basically lost.
Additionally, I would add a pressure sensor on the table for the treasure. As the treasure rests on the table, it will apply pressure on the sensor, so when it’s picked up, the sensor has less weight so it implies the user picked it up and won! This would signal p5js to stop the radar and stop the timer and indicate that the user has won.
I was also thinking of adding a potentiometer to the circuit to try and challenge the user. This potentiometer would change the speed of the servo motor. So that way it maps the area even faster making it more challenging not to be noticed.
P5js:
For p5js, I wanted to simply create a visual for the radar, sort of like the image I posted last time:
So, as the Servo motor rotates, the line rotates around the circle as well. The ultrasonic sensor would produce some point on this radar to detect a person is there. If they are outside the range then it will not map.
Additionally, I wanted to also draw a timer somewhere so that the user can detect how much time they have left.
I also plan to add some music and some cool radar sound effects through p5js to keep the experience a little more fun and realistic.
Afterthoughts:
I may utilize the createCapture() function on p5js (camera) as that may be useful as a backup or to even double down on the scanning. Perhaps, I could use this to detect the user and use the ultra sonic sensor to detect how far they are. Maybe I could use the camera to communicate with Arduino to move the laser pointing or the nerf gun or whatever to point exactly at their body or something so it doesn’t get in their eye.