Think Outside: The Box

A game where a certain state or action must be achieved with a box to fulfill a progress indication on a website.

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Overview

Think Outside: The Box is a unique, interactive puzzle game. Challenges are solved by completing some sort of physical action on the box. Some puzzles are very easy to solve, others will require more time and experimentation. The hardware is packaged in a convenient, easy to carry, and aesthetically pleasing box.

Details

The Box currently uses a temperature sensor and an accelerometer. Both sensors are associated with three puzzles, with the accelerometer’s puzzles designed to be slightly easier than the temperature sensor’s. The accelerometer’s puzzles are shaking the box along the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis. The motion must exceed a certain threshold. The temperature sensor puzzles are taking it into a cold room, hot room, and moving quickly from a hot room to a cold room. Upon completion of a “set” of puzzles (the puzzles associated with a particular sensor), the user receives a text communicated. This happens via ThinkSpeak and Twillo.

Process and Challenges

The first thing we did was build the hardware. This was the easiest part. Our design is extremely simple, and very easy to add on to or change. Next, we developed the challenges. The most difficult part came when we wanted to connect everything to wifi. We originally tried an email implementation. However, this did not work well with the Arduino Wifi Shield. When we finally got the code to work, we discovered the libraries used were too large to fit onto the Arduino, and we were unable to get a larger one. Therefore, we decided to change the implementation to a text message. It was very important for us to get this to work, as we wanted users to have a way to track their progress and receive rewards for doing well.

What We Learned

We learned a tremendous amount about product design and construction. In particular, we learned a lot about working with libraries and interfacing with other products. The project required a lot of trial and error and problem solving under a time crunch.

Future

We believe our product is very easily able to be commercialized. In the future, we would like to add more puzzles utilizing different sensors. In particular, we would like to implement a gyroscope and light sensor, although the possibilities are certainly endless. We also envision redesigning the packaging to make it smaller. This way it is easier to throw in a backpack or pocket and take it with you wherever you go. We would also like to find a way to make the email functionality work. This could interface with a website that holds a collection of all the hints for the puzzles, as well as lets you track your progress and compete with friends.

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Overview

Think Outside: The Box is a unique, interactive puzzle game. Challenges are solved by completing some sort of physical action on the box. Some puzzles are very easy to solve, others will require more time and experimentation. The hardware is packaged in a convenient, easy to carry, and aesthetically pleasing box.

Details

The Box currently uses a temperature sensor and an accelerometer. Both sensors are associated with three puzzles, with the accelerometer’s puzzles designed to be slightly easier than the temperature sensor’s. The accelerometer’s puzzles are shaking the box along the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis. The motion must exceed a certain threshold. The temperature sensor puzzles are taking it into a cold room, hot room, and moving quickly from a hot room to a cold room. Upon completion of a “set” of puzzles (the puzzles associated with a particular sensor), the user receives a text communicated. This happens via ThinkSpeak and Twillo.

Process and Challenges

The first thing we did was build the hardware. This was the easiest part. Our design is extremely simple, and very easy to add on to or change. Next, we developed the challenges. The most difficult part came when we wanted to connect everything to wifi. We originally tried an email implementation. However, this did not work well with the Arduino Wifi Shield. When we finally got the code to work, we discovered the libraries used were too large to fit onto the Arduino, and we were unable to get a larger one. Therefore, we decided to change the implementation to a text message. It was very important for us to get this to work, as we wanted users to have a way to track their progress and receive rewards for doing well.

What We Learned

We learned a tremendous amount about product design and construction. In particular, we learned a lot about working with libraries and interfacing with other products. The project required a lot of trial and error and problem solving under a time crunch.

Future

We believe our product is very easily able to be commercialized. In the future, we would like to add more puzzles utilizing different sensors. In particular, we would like to implement a gyroscope and light sensor, although the possibilities are certainly endless. We also envision redesigning the packaging to make it smaller. This way it is easier to throw in a backpack or pocket and take it with you wherever you go. We would also like to find a way to make the email functionality work. This could interface with a website that holds a collection of all the hints for the puzzles, as well as lets you track your progress and compete with friends.

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