Capture the Flag — Adaptive Game for Disabled Children Overview This project is an interactive Capture the Flag game designed to include disabled children who ride in remotely-controlled toy cars. A sibling operates a handheld controller to activate colored flags, while the child in the car drives toward them to "capture" each one. When the child gets close enough to a flag, an ultrasonic sensor detects them and triggers a celebration. The game ends when all three colors have been captured. The goal is to create a shared play experience where both the disabled child and their sibling are actively participating — the sibling chooses which flag to activate, and the child drives to find and capture it.
How the Game Works
The sibling places a flag unit somewhere in the play area. The sibling presses a color button on the controller (red, green, or blue). The matching LED lights up on the flag, and a buzzer sounds to attract attention. The disabled child drives the toy car toward the flag. When the car gets within 1 meter (~3 feet), the ultrasonic sensor on the flag detects the child and triggers a capture celebration — the LED flashes, a sound plays, and a "captured" message is sent back to the controller. The controller marks that color as captured (LED stays solid) and the sibling can now activate the next color. Once all three colors are captured, both devices play a victory fanfare with flashing LEDs. The game auto-resets after 10 seconds, or the sibling can press the reset button to start a new round immediately.
Hardware Device 1: Controller (Sibling's Handheld)
1x ESP8266 NodeMCU 3x LEDs (red, green, blue) with 220Ω resistors 3x Momentary push buttons (red, green, blue) 1x Reset button 1x Buzzer 1x 10KΩ resistor (pull-up for D0)
Game Variations
Progressive difficulty: Start with the flag close, move it farther each round. Timed rounds: See how fast the child can capture all 3 colors. Color calling: The sibling calls out the color name to help the child learn colors. Sound hunt: Place the flag out of sight and let the buzzer guide the child by sound.
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