Mathematik  |  Informatik

 

Tiziano De Simone, 2006 | Muttenz, BL

 

This project investigates whether a custom-built wearable input device can achieve sufficient reliability and responsiveness to serve as a controller for a purpose-built video game. A glove equipped with five flex sensors and a 9-axis gyroscope was developed alongside a 15-level 3D puzzle game, Bobr Escorts. The project describes the complete pipeline from developing a custom electronic device, to game development and asset creation. It serves as a proof of concept and perhaps inspiration for any who wish to approach a similar project.

Introduction

Can a self-developed hardware-software pipeline, from sensor acquisition through wireless transmission to real-time game integration, achieve sufficient input consistency and low enough latency to support meaningful gameplay? A secondary objective evaluates what a single developer can realistically produce across electronics prototyping, 3D modelling, software engineering, and audio production within a school project timeline.

Methods

The entire project can be described as diving head first into tasks, searching what could work to realize my ideas and then implementing them. In order to find the necessary information my best friends were YouTube, different forums and LLMs which could teach me code I was not aware of. The final product uses a custom PCB designed in KiCad, housing an Arduino Nano ESP32, five Spectra Symbol flex sensors, a BNO055 9-axis gyroscope, an HC-06 Bluetooth module, and a PowerBoost 1000C battery manager. Flex sensors were wired as voltage dividers and read via a 12-bit ADC. The PCB and battery are mounted on a, custom-designed, 3D printed base. All sensor data was packed into a 22-byte binary structure and transmitted wirelessly via Bluetooth. A 20 ms inter-packet delay was enforced to prevent buffer saturation in Unity. The game was built in Unity using C# with a modular, object-oriented architecture. All visual and audio assets (except the last song) were produced by myself using Blender and FL Studio.

Results

Success was often measured simply by seeing if the product did what it was supposed to and weather the game was playable. Additional measurements were done in order to evaluate how good the device performs. The flex sensors yield a usable range of 723 to 1001 ADC units per sensor depending on finger anatomy. The Arduino transmitted packets at a stable average interval of 22,043 microseconds; Unity parsed them at 22,950 microseconds on average, with no systemic buffer accumulation observed over time. Gyroscope drift averaged 19.31 degrees after five full motion tests. Multiple playtesters reported no perceptible input lag and confirmed the multitasking challenge of the control scheme.

Discussion

In the end I managed to successfully implement my ideas up to a very satisfactory level, the device provides a stable performance and the game proves to be an enjoyable experience. This was a very ambitious project from the very start, naturally there were many challenges that I needed to overcome and things that could have been done differently. One of the main challenges I had to repeatedly overcome, was finding out what the necessary concepts were in order to realize my ideas, whether it was a coding concept or choice of electronic parts. This is where also a lot of potential for improvement lies. Considering how much I aimed to achieve, going into everything head first with little research was unavoidable, however, careful research into what I was doing would have yielded better results overall. This does not mean that I did not gain a lot of experiences which will be useful in future projects. The skills to design a PCB, solder, create a functioning circuit and creating a videogame from scratch will remain useful to me.

Conclusions

The project confirms that a custom wearable input device can achieve sufficient reliability and responsiveness to serve as a game controller. Sensor readings were consistent, the communication pipeline was stable, and testers reported an intuitive and engaging experience. The total component cost was approximately CHF 131 for the final device itself (excluding shipping fees). Personally I really enjoyed working on this project, it taught me a lot of skills relevant for creating videogames, as well for creating complex electronics. This project also demonstrated how much I can do as an individual, there are certain limits, however, I was able to achieve much more than I expected. If I were to do the project again I would exchange the project size for polish. It was a very instructive experience and I hope to work on similar projects again.

 

 

Würdigung durch den Experten

Loïc Cattani

From an original idea to control a self-made video game using hand movements, the candidate has demonstrated an ability and willingness to research and learn many complex technologies, and integrate them into a fully functioning and useful device. Using online resources, generative AI mentoring, and off-the-shelf hardware, Mr. De Simone has learned a wide range of disciplines, from 3D printing to game design, electronic engineering to industrial design, as well as music production and embedded electronics programming.

Prädikat:

Gold

Sonderpreis «MILSET Expo-Sciences Europe (ESE)», gestiftet von der Metrohm Stiftung

 

 

 

Gymnasium Muttenz
Lehrer: Oliver De Capitani