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The interesting part is not the game, it is how the board is used. The Arduino UNO Q carries a microcontroller and a Linux processor on the same board, and this project runs both at once: the microcontroller handles everything that has to be exact to the millisecond, Linux handles face recognition and sound. Two worlds that usually need two separate boards, talking to each other inside one enclosure. Placeholder text of realistic length, to be rewritten for the site.
FilesOpen source project: the files, the code and the assembly guide are published on Arduino Project Hub.
Files and guide on Arduino Project Hubprojecthub.arduino.cc ↗Every printed part, with its function and print settings.
The middle section of the console: it carries the LED matrix stopwatch, the three small buttons and the camera hinge, and the two side bodies bolt onto it. Printed flat, it is the piece that sets the width of everything else. Placeholder text: to be rewritten from the Project Hub page.
The left third of the console, with the seats for two arcade buttons and the handle. Mirror of the right one. Placeholder text: to be rewritten from the Project Hub page.
The right third of the console, with the seats for two arcade buttons and the handle. Mirror of the left one. Placeholder text: to be rewritten from the Project Hub page.
Closes the central body from below and gives access to the board and the wiring without taking the console apart. Placeholder text: to be rewritten from the Project Hub page.
The purple plate with START, OPTIONS and RESET: it holds the three small buttons and is the only printed part with text on it. Placeholder text: to be rewritten from the Project Hub page.
Closes the left body from below. Placeholder text: to be rewritten from the Project Hub page.
Closes the right body from below. Placeholder text: to be rewritten from the Project Hub page.
The two purple grips at the ends: the console is carried to a fair and back, and needs to be picked up with wet hands. Placeholder text: to be rewritten from the Project Hub page.
The purple corner pieces on the front edge, printed separately so that the big white bodies stay single-colour. Placeholder text: to be rewritten from the Project Hub page.
The four translucent domes you actually hit. Printed in clear material so that the Pixels module underneath lights the whole button. Placeholder text: to be rewritten from the Project Hub page.
The rings that hold each arcade button in its seat and guide its travel. Placeholder text: to be rewritten from the Project Hub page.
The bases under the buttons, carrying the tactile switches and the Pixels module. Placeholder text: to be rewritten from the Project Hub page.
Small stops that keep each dome from popping out when it is hit hard. Placeholder text: to be rewritten from the Project Hub page.
START, OPTIONS and RESET: three printed caps on tactile switches. Placeholder text: to be rewritten from the Project Hub page.
Holds the three tactile switches under the front plate. Placeholder text: to be rewritten from the Project Hub page.
The purple hinge block on the back edge: the camera arm folds flat for transport and stands up to look at the player. Placeholder text: to be rewritten from the Project Hub page.
The white arm that holds the webcam at eye height of whoever stands in front of the console. Placeholder text: to be rewritten from the Project Hub page.
Closes the camera arm around the webcam module. Placeholder text: to be rewritten from the Project Hub page.
The two printed pins the camera arm turns on. Placeholder text: to be rewritten from the Project Hub page.
Covers the LiPo pack from below. Placeholder text: to be rewritten from the Project Hub page.
Holds the power switch flush with the side of the console. Placeholder text: to be rewritten from the Project Hub page.
Holds the charging socket flush with the side of the console. Placeholder text: to be rewritten from the Project Hub page.
The rail the Arduino slides onto inside the central body. Placeholder text: to be rewritten from the Project Hub page.
Microcontroller and Linux processor on the same board. The microcontroller measures the reaction times, Linux runs the face recognition and the sound. Placeholder text: to be rewritten from the Project Hub page.
Thirteen modules on one bus: eight LED matrices form the stopwatch, four Pixels light the arcade buttons, one Thermo watches the temperature inside. In the CAD they share the same 3D model. Placeholder text: to be rewritten from the Project Hub page.
The USB camera in the arm: it recognises the face of whoever walks up and starts the game. Placeholder text: to be rewritten from the Project Hub page.
The main switch on the side of the console. Placeholder text: to be rewritten from the Project Hub page.
The switches under the buttons: what the microcontroller actually reads, to the millisecond. Placeholder text: to be rewritten from the Project Hub page.
Electronics
Eight LED matrices form the live stopwatch, four Pixels modules light the arcade buttons, a Thermo module keeps an eye on the enclosure temperature. All of them share the same bus, which is what makes the wiring reasonable instead of a bundle of thirty cables. Power comes from a 3S LiPo pack, so the machine can be carried to a fair and switched on without looking for a socket. The paragraph continues to the length the real text will have: which modules, why these and not others, and what had to be reworked when the button LEDs turned out to draw more current than the first estimate. Placeholder text.
Software
On the Linux side, a Python program reads the webcam and decides when somebody is actually standing in front of the machine rather than walking past it; the same side plays the sound effects. On the microcontroller side, a sketch does nothing but measure time and read the buttons, because that is the part that must never be late. The two halves exchange short messages, and the whole trick of the project is keeping that exchange small enough that it never delays the measurement. Placeholder text of realistic length, to be rewritten for the site. Released under GPL-3.0-or-later.
Assembly guide and bill of materials, to build one yourself.
