Grass Buddy

• 

  Character Sprite

Inspiration

We wanted to make a retro looking game console inspired by pokewalkers and tamagotchis with cute pets, and a special spin with community interaction and encouraging healthy habits.

What it does

Grass Buddy transforms daily walks into exciting journeys of connection and healthy habits. Using a cutting-edge 9 DOF IMU, it precisely monitors steps, allowing your buddy to become healthier, happier, and level up as you trek across town and interact with other players!

How we built it

We used an arduino nano to control an OLED display, RFID reader/writer, and piezo buzzer. We designed it with easy of use in mind which is why we 3D printed a hand sized case that completely encases all of the hardware nessacary.

Challenges we ran into

The arduino nano has only 2Kb of memory and unfortunately the arduino libraries to operate the OLED required a 8Kb back buffer in memory to write to it. So we spent a several hours writing a custom graphics library to draw to the screen from disk.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud of overcoming our time crunch near the end. We had several set backs due to software bugs, broken hardware, and bottle necks, however we overcame those challenges and managed to get a product we're proud of.

What we learned

Through the development of Grass Buddy, we gained valuable insights into blending technology, gaming, and community engagement. Overcoming challenges taught us the importance of creative problem-solving and collaboration.

What's next for Grass Buddy

The future for Grass Buddy involves continuous refinement based on user feedback. We aim to expand features, enhance community interactions, and explore opportunities for integration with health and fitness platforms. Grass Buddy's journey is just beginning!

Built With

• arduino
• oled