I have an electronic project that functions similar to an escape room. I'm currently looking at ways to add flourishes to its features. (Glitter, smoke, water, powder)
I currently have a few ideas on ways to accomplish these but I don't want them to be single use and require constant resetting/reloading. The more autonomy the better.
So far here are my ideas:
Water Sprayer (easy to accomplish with a mist nozzle and a litre of water, will last a decent amount of time)
Party Poppers (triggered by a servo with a large cam and string lengths used to fire one at a time in sequence, will require alot of party poppers)
Glitter (use a centrifugal fan to shoot glitter into the air, hard to prevent it using all the glitter in a short space of time)
I once saw a project that used a HV arc from a fly swatter or something to propel powder out of a cone but am unable to find it.
Can anyone else come up with ideas for methods of adding flourishes to my game? Interested to here what you all come up with?
Doesn't your country have legislation against most that? I see the risk of a fire or serious injury of your players by the ideas you presented (with the exception of the water sprayer).
What's the reason for that effect? Kind of reward for the winners? Punishment if the players did something wrong? Is cleaning up after the run a problem?
You would probably be correct about the legislation however this is not for commercial use. Basically every year I make an electronic "Christmas Crate" for my friends that live in the same house. The box holds there presents to Ransome until all the challenges are completed and makes the ones with lower points wait.
They compete against each other and utter chaos ensues. This is mk 3 of the Christmas Crate and hence I'm turning it up a notch again.
I can attach a sample test video if your more interested but imagine a wooden box turning up on your doorstep that has a mischievous squeeky elf voice that instigates games and challenges such as finding hidden RFID tags around the house for points.
Last year they found a few cheats ect with some of the games and it would be nice to play there own cheats against them. Breaking the 4th dimension if you like for reward or punishment.
An auger that feeds glitter into the air stream would prevent all of it being shot out at once. Different auger speed would feed different amounts into the air stream. Could do the same thing with confetti or whatever else. Please don't use cayenne!
At least in my legislation this rules apply for everyone, not just commercial suppliers. But that's up to you.
A simple cogwheel might have the same effect.
As your flourishes seem to be punishments, some high voltage shocks might be another option. Your local farmer store for sure has an electric fence device usable for such tasks without being lethal (what most self-made devices usually are).
I have a fly swatter PCB I can install on a relay for shocks if required. One of those get the loop around the course could be quite interesting with a metal handle
The only trouble with the auger or toothed wheel is I need those parts and don't have yet a 3d printer.
Powder such as flour/talc (something harmless in its own right) would be interesting if I could find a simple delivery system.
It's trying to find ways of breaking into that 4th dimension that doesn't take a major separate project. The mk 2 from last year already involved a custom made PCB interface board to breakout the connections with the relays and MOSFETs ect.
There are a lot of "granular substance feeder" schemes that could be used to meter glitter into some sort of dispersal mechanism. Look up "cat food dispenser" for ideas.
There are plenty of retriggerable smoke generators, from room-filling machines to devices designed for model trains.
I'm using these concepts quite generally. The little fly swatter a you can buy come with a mini datasheet and meet the CE requirements so turning it off and on with a relay shouldn't change its safety specifications although I am aware of a Ross the heart ect.
Flour, I know can be explosive hence the bracket of some form of powder.
I'm after ideas and implementation suggestions as appose to legislation. Diner details can be worked out amongst it.
Glitter shooter: valved glitter container feeds a tube with valved lp air.
Smoke machine
Strobes
Recorded cheering
Flags that drop down & wave (nice servo app)
Shipping peanuts falling from overhead.
While the stuff can be bulk fed for once a day loading, the glitter, confetti, peanuts, etc all need to be cleaned up (and can't really be reused) between runs.
Fixed streamers can be automatically retracted between takes. long tube with air at one end, opening at other. Suction hose to retract ribbon. Air blows it out and makes it flutter, Suction pulls it back in, nothing to pick up. Lighting is easy and no mess. Ditto for smoke machine or dry ice bucket.
