ControLIT!

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  Picture of the controller

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  Picture of the game

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  Image of game

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  Image of game

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  Image of game

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  Image of game

We were inspired to make this project because we wanted to develop a user experience that will stimulate a lasting interest in and preparation for STEM careers for those under 12 years of age.

This game procedurally teaches kids about Arduino Boards, jumper cables, breadboards, and buttons. It does this by having the kids set up the board and then giving them an explanation as to what they just did and why it works. In this way, it teaches kids about electronics and generates interest in STEM as a whole.

We built the game and the controller at the same time. We then decided which levels would teach the kids which concepts and then set up the button circuits accordingly.

The main challenge involved not having the required hardware to run the software we needed. We had an R3 Uno Arduino Board, which couldn't run the Keyboard library which meant we couldn't read in keyboard inputs. So we had to change the firmware in the Arduino Board so that the laptop would recognize it as a keyboard. In this way we got the controller to work.

As previously mentioned, we're very proud of getting the controller to work despite the software challenge experienced during the project.

We learned that investing in good hardware when possible can save a lot of time on the software side later down the road.

We hope to add more levels and controls to continue teaching kids about electronics. We hope that our project in its final form will inspire kids to pursue STEM as they grow up and mature.

Built With

• arduino
• breadboard
• c++
• unity