Marathon Beekeeping Home

Marathon Beekeeping

Team Members: Maura Aranguren, Xuesen Li, Nik Martelaro, and Adam Nekimken

Marathon Beekeping is our arcade-style rendition of the ever-so popular sport for all ages. Two players compete against each other with the goal of having their character reach the finish line first. The players must run on a stomp pad for their characters to advance. But, there is some strategy to this! The players can also catch bees by moving their batons back and forth in front of the sensor. If a player catches enough bees, the other player gets stung. When a player is stung, his or her baton vibrates, red lights around the stinger turn on, and the player’s character does not move even if the player runs! To continue, the player must press the stinger (i.e., the force sensor toward the top of the game). If both players are too slow, the timer runs out and neither character reaches the end. Instead, our professor, Ed, carrying a pot of honey reaches the finish line.

The game is activated when a player inserts a card into the appropriate slot. Except for this card being on only one side, the two players have identical boards and face each other. The red “on your mark” LED turns on for both players when the card, read by a tape sensor, is inserted. When the players step on the stomp pads, the yellow “get set” LEDs turn on. The players now need to check in by bringing their batons close to the hall effect sensor on the center of each board. The yellow LED right above this sensor will turn on and off every time the baton is brought close to it. (To aid the players guiding their batons to point in close proximity to the sensor, we added magnets behind each sensor in the interior of the game structure.) Once both players have checked in, it’s go time! The green LED light turns on after two seconds so the players can adjust. Whether they run furiously or apply the one-step technique as they catch bees, both players must rush to beat the 45 second timer. Either they time out and Ed wins, or the game ends early when one of the player’s character passes the finish flag. To celebrate, inspiring hope and joy to viewers everywhere, the winning character rushes to the center of the game board upon completion and dances back and forth. Losers are immediately sent back to the start line and subjected to a vibrating baton.