Future Improvements
(Reflections)
Although the 3-D
Tic-Tac-Toe device worked well, there are certainly a few things that we would
do differently in the future.
The most
obvious weakness of our device was the slow movement of the Lateral Positioning
Device. The reason for this inefficiency was due mostly to a last minute failure
of a different device that was designed to accomplish the same
task.
Mechanical
Our initial device used a roller chain that was
constrained by a groove milled into a piece of aluminum. We replaced one of the
standard chain links with a custom piece that extended out of the chain and
attached to the funnel. The geometry of this part was such that, with one
actuator, each of the nine required positions could be reached. A stepper motor
with a sprocket drove the chain. This mechanism had a number of advantages over
the implemented 2-axis system. First, it required only one stepper motor. Since
the handyboard can only drive one stepper at a time, it moved the two axis of
our final design in series. This contributed to the long length of time required
to place each ball. However, the small pitch on the lead screws caused the major
cause of this delay. Although faster lead screws could be purchased, they are
quite expensive. The chain mechanism solved this problem as well. Instead of
gearing down the speed, it actually increased it, sacrificing some unneeded
torque so that the funnel moved quickly. Unfortunately, we could not get this
component to work properly. The chain occasionally seized in its groove, causing
the stepper motor to miss steps. Although the exact reason for the chain
malfunction is still unknown, we abandoned the device after countless hours of
work. If we had more time, we could have used a dc gearmotor with an encoder
that would provide feedback control of our motor eliminating the nuisance of
missed steps.
Another improvement we
suggest is to make the device play on a 4X4X4 game cube. The problem with 3X3X3
is that whichever player goes first can always win. Since we had limited time
for this project, we stuck to the smaller version of the game. If a 4x4 cube was
implemented, another level would need to be added and we would have to use the
two-axis lateral positioning device. However, similar computation could be used,
and it would result in much more exciting game play.
Electronics
We
would have liked to hard-wire all our circuits, instead of keeping some on
breadboards. Anytime a proto-board is moved, it is likely that it will not
function when turned on again. Additionally, it would have given our project a
more professional look.
Software
From a
software perspective, the one addition that would be made in redesigning this
project would be to add a history component to the game. Thus, the computer
would remember moves and the outcomes of previous games, using it to determine
it's current move. Of course, this adds a degree of difficulty to the game for
the user. It was originally thought to include such a history component in this
version of the product. However, due to the very nature of a 3x3x3 tic-tac-toe
game, this does not prove advantageous over our current strategy. Future
products that are more complicated (ie 4x4x4 and 10x10x10) will benefit from
such a history component. Also, if it were our choice, this program would most
likely be not be implemented in IC due to IC's lack of completeness when
compared to regular C. At one point in production, the software was completed
but had to be rewritten due to IC's lack of basic data structures such as two
dimensional arrays are structs. This is not to speak negatively of IC because it
is very easy to use after one becomes familiar with its shortcomings, but rather
to illustrate that more functionality of IC could lead to more aesthetically
pleasing code from a programmer's perspective and overall faster time to market.
Direction
The beauty of this project is in it's ability to adapt
with the passing of time and the advent of new technologies. This ability to
adapt stems from the design of both the mechanics and software. As the human
mind becomes more complex and more able to handle more complex problems, the
game of 3-D tic-tact-toe can extend to 4x4x4 or 5x5x5 or even 10x10x10. It is
relatively easily and efficient to add one or more levels, rows, and/or columns
to the game board. Because of the way the stepper and servomotors are
implemented to access the squares, the main change is in the software. The game
play would be the same, with the only update being needing to add the new
winning paths available to both user and computer. These relatively inexpensive
means of upgrade give our product a massive edge over similar and comparable
games, allowing us here at Tic-Tac-Technologies to bring you games for today and
for the next century.
