If you are in New York come say hello!

invitation

Here it is working now:

I changed the plexi for a new thicker, heavier sheet, dremmeled it into shape with the last one as a mold.

Hinges hold it to the back of the board now. The computer is locked down as well. It has access to the on button of the computer in the back.

back of the board

It all came together really nicely, though it has taken long, I’m really happy with the final result. I’m putting together some nice pictures to makean operating manual. I’m also enlisting some help to make a sticker logo to go in the front.

Here’s Swish working now:

A look inside:

The next few pictures are the insides of backboard. The cover holds the monitor in place, so to take this picture i have taped it up. All the wires, the computer and the keyboard emulator are in here. The wires needed to power it up run through the inside of the stand (the gray part). There’s even a multi-plug at the very base so that only one cable comes out of it to connect to power.

it all gets covered by this piece of plexi, which screws into place.

here’s a look from the side. The computer is thicker than the backboard so there’s a bit of a gap. The wire is for security purposes. It locks down the computer inside Swish.

here’s a top view:

and a back view:

The sensor that makes all this happen is actually in the basket. It’s the ring at the very bottom of it and it connects to the keyboard emulator in the back through the cable you see here:

Here is a look at the sensor before it got covered up:

And this is a photo of it before it got soldered into place. It is made up by 20 magnetic switches.

Here’s a look inside the ball, it contains magnets.

As the switches I was going for failed, here are the options to proceed:

1. a (semi) soft switch that activates with the net.

this means inserting a ring onto the net and then making the movement of the net make the connection and trigger. more than one connection point to ensure a proper reading and not just movement. here is a video demonstration of a rough version of this.

pros

cons

2. a bucket to hold the ball with a switch integrated inside it.

pros

- not having to run after the ball.

cons

Here are some pictures of how it all comes together:

The portfolio can contain the mac mini and also all the cables so that one single plug comes out of there. There’s 2 options: to drill it to the bottom or make the stand go into the portfolio.

The sensors don’t work as well now that it’s all put together. I’ve been testing out soft switches on the net that will be able to detect the ball. I’d rather stay off the ball so that there’s no need for a single specific ball. I’m working with a wooden ring now… more on this soon!

The cables are now on the inside of the stand.

The main problem now is putting the mac mini away. It can’t go inside the blue base because the stand cuts through it so there is not enough space.

I got this black case that can hide the computer away and it can be easily locked. The handle for the portfolio will be removed. It’s also possible to add some weights inside of it or foam to protect the mini even more. There are two options: to put it under the base and secure them together permanently or to replace the base with it.

The backboard has taken a long time. Setting the screen in the right place and holding it has been a challenge. I settled on screwing it to the backboard like this:

I also cut out the places where the cables run. This backboard will also contain the electronics and it will have two buttons so that the physical therapist (or playing companion!) can add and subtract points in case it’s necessary. This 2 switches will be at the top part of the backboard, out of the reach of the player.

Next steps: getting rid of the white logo and building up the rest.

Finally it’s time to cut and paste everything together and see how it works!

Here is a picture of the backboard:

I’ll experiment with melting plastic glue and also pvc cement and epoxy to see what works best to hold the bolts and also to stick the small piece of plexi onto the board permanently.

I got the sensors in this week and tested with them. With two Sharp ir sensors set at a 90 degree angle from each other it seems to work. It is hard to test without putting the whole thing together. The code is ready, now back to building!

I also set the sensors permanently on the ring.

This week I got the plexi pieces and took them to be cut at AMS. Making the file was hard because of the rounded corners of the backboard. It took a long time to make the illustrator file and it was still a little bit off. With Kristin’s help and patience we cut a few cardboard samples before going onto the actual plastic.

Cutting the backboard, for the screen, was even trickier. We set the laser cutter very slow and cut through it over 12 times to make sure the plastic didn’t melt.

I also cut a small rectangle of transparent plexi to protect the screen from scratches and the ball.

Now I wonder how I will glue and bolt all this together.