Mini Sculptures Overview

Light Sensors

Light Sensors pick up on specific colors that go by it. We use the light sensors to detect what the color of the marble is and determine whether the marble is warm or cool in color.

Motor

The Motor is activated when sensors are triggered. In our sculpture, the motor is triggered by the light sensors along with the touch sensors, which will make the motor move the paddle.

Touch Sensors

Touch Sensors are activated when they come into contact with an object. We use the touch sensors to let the user determine when to move the paddle. In this case, the user will be able to sort the marbles with the push of a "button".

Design Concepts

The concept of our Kinetic Sculpture is to sort different colored marbles into two baskets based off whether the marble colors are warm or cool. While the marble runs on the track, it will pass a light sensor that will capture the color frequency of the marble and turn a paddle at the end of the track. This paddle will direct the warm-colored marbles and the cool-colored marbles into their respective baskets.

Mechanism Movement

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Sorting Into the Hopper

As seen above, the sorting mechanism of our mini-sculpture ensures that the marbles are correctly sorted into each hopper based on their colors.

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Paddle Mechanism Close-Up

The movement of the paddle ensures that the marble is directed into the right track, with it's quick movement giving it the ability to sort marbles in rapid succession

Analysis & Results

At the beginning of the building and coding process, we built a paddle out of Lego pieces, which would use a paddle to lead the marble down one path/block it from going down the other path. Initially, we developed the code to move the paddle based off the color of the marble. Later, problems with the light sensor not being able to detect the colors of the marbles correctly arose, and we were forced to change the code. Additionally, we added the feature of using a touch sensor as a button so that users can press the "button" and switch the paddle to the other side. Finally, we added improvements to the paddle to better direct the marbles to fall in the baskets, rather than miss it and fallout of the structure.

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