STEM Motion Box

S.T.E.M. Motion Box

"Technology, like art, is a soaring exercise of the human imagination." - Daniel Bell

S.T.E.M. Motion Box is an iOS physics simulation illustrating projectile motion (i.e. kinematics). The design focus was precision, convenience and aesthetics to keep the user engaged. By creating an interactive, fun experience, all users will stay curious and be enthusiastic about exploring kinematics.

Users begin with an environment comprising of a ground level and two balls. As the user taps-and-holds, they can visually set the velocity of a ball. From a technical aspect, the simulation applies the trigonometric functions to calculate the velocity's direction and magnitude. (e.g. 80º from East, at 14 meters per second).

Modes 

Swap between modes such as Two Bodies or Projectile Playground.

Two Bodies

In the Two Bodies mode, users can discover how two balls interact (i.e. collide) with one another. With the freedom to set a different velocity for each ball, there are endless outcomes. The two-body mode shows more statistics, such as height-at-collision and distance-between-balls. 

Screenshot demonstrating Two Bodies mode.

Projectile Playground

In the Projectile Playground, users can instead experiment using a single ball. The simulation continues wherever the ball landed instead of restarting after each projection. Purple lines show the ball's current trajectory, whereas grey lines show the trajectory history

Other features

Additional features (supported in all modes) include slow-motion and pathing trajectories. 

Projectile statistics 

Shows the essential statistics (such as peak-height, impact-time and displacement) of each projectile after all projectiles have landed. 

Slow motion

Slows the speed of the simulation, enabling each user the freedom to enjoy and observe the statistics. 

Trajectory pathing

During any ball's motion, there is a path created behind the ball to visually show its trajectory.

What makes this different?

A notable flaw with popular simulations is portability and convenience (being web-based they need an internet connection to work). 

This lack of accessibility creates a gap in the market. We live mobile-driven lifestyles, so S.T.E.M. Motion Box empowers learning and the use of science in our day-to-day lives using mobile technologies such as iPads or smartphones.

The future of S.T.E.M. Motion Box

On a technical side, S.T.E.M. Motion Box's architecture is modular and fluid – increasing the maintainability and opportunity for future growth.

Future enhancements include but are not confined to:

• A free-fall mode, enabling experimentation with falling balls.

• Toggling to a gravity-free environment.

• Adjusting the radii of balls and the distance between them.

• The ability to keep past projection statistics.

• Making in-app videos or GIFs of the simulation for sharing purposes or as a teaching/demonstration tool.