Electronic Rock-Em Sock-Em Robots

We've embedded the latest TI technology into an old favorite, Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots!

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Electronic Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots

Creators

• Zachery Shivers (z-shivers@ti.com)
• Anne Flinchbaugh (a-flinchbaugh@ti.com)

Inspiration

Technology is growing at such a fast and exciting pace, leaving the old, classic games to be forgotten in the toy closet. By adding an interactive feature to Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots, this project brings the simple game back to life!

Our initial inspiration came directly from one of our fellow co-workers, Adrian Fernandez, who had a Rock 'Em Sock 'Em gameboard on his desk.

Features

• Wireless gameplay using the Chronos watch and the EM430F6137RF900
• Custom PCB
• 160 x 128 pixel LCD display from Sparkfun
• Directly punch to activate robot's punch
• Move hands to move robot

Future

• Audio
• Save score to SD card
• Replay game from SD card

Gameplay

Overview

The classic two-player boxing robot game is back and now technologically re-vamped with original hardware and the use of the Chronos watch. Wearing the Chronos watches, one on each hand, each player is in complete control of the robot. With the data from the acceleration sensors on the watches, each physical punch thrown by the player commands the robot to throw a punch with the corresponding arm. To control the position of the robot, the player tilts his/her hands forward, backward, left, or right. Despite the change in controls, the rules of the game remain the same: A player wins a round by punching the opponent (robot) with enough force, resulting in the opposing robot's head popping up.

Note: Each player must keep their arms in basic "fighting stance", mimicking the position of the robot's arms, during the entire course of the game. This ensures that the physical movements of the player transfer as expected to the game board.

Startup

• Program each of the 4 watches, following the instructions described below:

1. Watch 1: Player 1 Hand: L
2. Watch 2: Player 1 Hand: R
3. Watch 3: Player 2 Hand: L
4. Watch 4: Player 2 Hand: R

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Hardware

Custom PCB made. Includes interface for display LCD, SD card

Uses several TI parts:

• TPA301 Audio amplifier
• Teethwhitening
• TL1963A-33 3.3V Low-dropout Linear Regulator
• SN74LVC8T245 8 bit Dual Supply Bus

Usage Instructions

Programming the TI Chronos Watch

Two watches per player must be programmed, one for each hand.

1. Download and extract the **.zip file.
2. Start IAR Embedded Workbench.
3. Select File -> Open -> Workspace.
4. Browse to the location of the extracted folder and open the .eww workspace file.
5. Right click project name and select "Options".
6. Under "Linker", select the "#define" tab and define the appropriate symbols representing the player (1 or 2) and hand (right or left) to specify which watch is being programmed.
7. Remove the battery from the back of the watch.
8. Connect the eZ430 emulator to a USB port on your PC and connect the watch to the emulator.
9. Select Project -> Download and Debug
10. Select Debug -> Go to begin running the program on the watch.
11. Disconnect the watch from the emulator, reinsert the battery, and reassemble the watch.
12. Repeat for the remaining watches needed for game play.

Source Code

File:Rockem-code.zip Revision 1

Schematics

• 

  PCB Revision 1