Laser Tag Sensor Collar for Zombie Actors

Sorry for being such a noob. I am working on a project that will involve Arduino and IR Tag. I am trying to find the easiest method of creating a sensor system that will attach to neck collars for at least 100 zombie actors. I realize this will be costly but I need it to be very simple, the shooter hits the collar and an LED light turns on and a buzzer goes off and the zombie is destroyed. I do not need the zombie to respawn or become wounded, the shooter hits the collar area and its dead, then pushes power button or reset switch. I am currently using MilesTag in my weapons, but I am trying to avoid spending $45.00 per board per collar for a device that is designed for a tagger. I have seen the different types of Arduinos out there, but have no clue on "dumbing down" these devices.
Any advice would be very much appreciated.
James

For a collar your going to need to build your own Arduino or use a really small version. The program will be super simple, however, until you have all the parts it's obviously hard to start working on programs. Below is a link for an ir receiver that might work as well as a small Arduino.

Best of luck!

EDIT: Here are some more parts you will need.

Thanks so much, guess I should have stayed awake in class.

If I already have access to the compatible receiver from a different source, will that be OK?

zombiehunter:
If I already have access to the compatible receiver from a different source, will that be OK?

Yes. The only thing you have to watch out for is a few IR transmitters use a different frequency. However, something like 90-95% of the IR transmitters out there use the same frequency.

I would recommend building 1-2 units first, before going full hog to build a 100 (unless time is critical, and if time is critical, and you haven't done anything with embedded processors, you are likely need to learn rather quickly). If you live in the USA, it may make sense to buy an Arduino and sensor (if they have it) at Radio Shack, so you can begin building it tomorrow (as it generally takes about a week to get things from Sparkfun unless you live near Colorado). Once you have the basic design and you know how to build it, come back and the group should probably have ideas how to make it cheaper. Sparkfun (and Adafruit) are good when you are buying a few parts, but if you need a hundred or so, there are cheaper places to get things in bulk (however, you want to make sure you know how to make the first one).

An alternative to the Sparkfun pieces, would be Digispark. You would need to get a buzzer elsewhere as I don't think they sell it, but the basic two pieces you would get are:

If you have a MicroCenter nearby, they are now stocking both Sparkfun and Digisparks.

If you only need to detect IR pulses in a modulated signal then your best/cheapest approach would be to use ATTiny chips to activate after receiving say 'x' IR pulse within 'y' milli-seconds. The other parts were already covered here. Consider using button batteries, if size is an issue with AA or AAA.

If you need cheaper than the $9 digispark, then your own pcb with an ATTiny should work out better for 100 pcs - but more work. You may get a better price from digistump directly for 100 units?.

If you need to decode specific IR signal codes or shooters (like miles tag) then your software on the Attiny will become more complex. I supect a search would uncover a library that runs IRremote on ATtiny. When selecting IR receivers Vishay are good, avoid the cheaper ones (<$1)

PS: also consider using SMD IR receivers for an even more compact solution.

Another alternative is this unit from Sure: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Infrared-Remote-Decoder-Modul-Small-7-key-Controller-/350608682887?pt=US_Remote_Controls&hash=item51a1e7ef87.

It recognizes up to 7 keys using the NEC protocol. Given it can emit the keys via 4 separate pins, you can even use discrete logic and dispense with the Arduino. But given how cheap you can get ATtiny based controllers, it may be simpler to still use the controller.

Sparkfun has a similar chip, that can recognize just two sequences, but unlike the Sure device, you can program the device by hooking it up to an IR receiver, and setting some pins. https://www.sparkfun.com/datasheets/Sensors/Infrared/SIS-2.pdf. You can get chips to turn off a computer or have more codes at http://www.simerec.com, but at $20-30, it is getting to the point, where it would be cheaper to do a cheap microprocessor.

Thanks for helping out so much, since I am using Miles Tag shooters, I think I will be using Milestag Protocall. Since Im just a caveman, but I am trying to learn as fast as I can. I will be lining the control collars for my zombie actors with 4 receiver and led sections, and when the zombie is hit with the IR beam, lights turn on, a buzzer starts and the zombie is destroyed, until the person resets the collar. I have the 56kHz IR emmiter and the matching receivers for this project, just need the brains for the collars for this to work. I will be gearing up 6 people at a time to enter a building and survive an attack from 100 plus zombies. Since I am in the northwest, there is a huge zombie following and everyones tired of paintball and airsoft. I am going to start out small, but putting the guns together from my stock of converted airsoft guns is going faster than expected.

Send us the spec/data sheet for the receivers you will be using.

Here's the link, file too big, TSOP4856 datasheet(1/8 Pages) VISHAY | IR Receiver Modules for Remote Control Systems

Tried to add images, disregard if confused

So you will be using the Miles Tag protocol. To detect this you will probably need a micro controller of some sort.

Suggestions:

  • First, try to prototype your solution with a standard Arduino
  • Once you have the prototype working, you will be in a better position to judge the next step.
  • you will know how many pins you require, how much flash & how much RAM.
  • after that you will know which ATTiny model or alternative will work (if any)

If you don't actually have to fully decode the Miles tag protocol, you could also devise a clever scheme just to detect a valid miles tag signal.

I don't recall seeing an Arduino library for decoding Miles Tag, but there may be examples on the Miles Tag forum.

Just curious if theres any update on this project? :slight_smile: