Overview Storyboard Room Layout Component Assembly Components Display Board Hit Detection Ball Return Floor Board

Ball Release Mechanism

The ball release mechanism is connected close to the 6x6 grid that is in charge of capturing the balls and recording where the team is planning their attack. It is connected with PVC joints of a diameter of 4.5 inches to fit the 3.5 inch balls.

Servomotor latch release (skee-ball release): The balls are then funneled down to the release mechanism and held there by a mechanism similar to those used in skee-ball games. A peg is attached to a servo motor that rotates and allows the balls to move down to the players one-by-one. We wanted to limit the amount of balls that teams are allowed to have at any given time during the game for accountability purposes. Teams are only allowed one ball per turn (or throw). When the servomotor receives signal from the IR sensor (in charge of keeping track of what “ship” is hit) in the 6x6 capturing grid, it will release a ball.

Attachment to wall: As shown the balls are stopped and held in place with the release peg. Once a ball is sent down the tube and released by the servomotor it is fed down and through the wall to the second part of the ball release system that is visible to the team: the gun turret.

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Gun Turret

Design: The design of the room was based on the game Battle Ship so when designing the ball feeder that teams actually see, I thought it would be cool to have the “ammunition” dropped off of a gun turret that would be similar to something actually seen on a combat ship. The color scheme was based on the gray and cool colors of the game. The barrel of the gun turret would be a powder coated black to give an industrial appearance while the top of the barrel is a contrasting course aluminum cast. The turret has a raw magnesium cast color, again keeping consistent with the theme of gray colors seen on a lot of military ships. The turret feeds the balls into a basket forcing teams to reach down on the floor.

Assembly Attachment: The turret is connected to the ball release mechanism behind the wall.

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