RealMaze - Ball Maze/Labyrinth controlled by Android ADK, Google I/O Style

UPDATE: Instructable now published: http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Android-Ball-Maze-An-Introduction-to-the-... - Be sure to vote for me in the competitions - I'm signed up for both the Microcontroller and Toy comps at the moment - Thanks!

Inspired by the ball maze at Google I/O 2011, I decided to go and raid my parents' house for the ball maze I grew up with. When I found it the challenge was set: I had one night to develop the hardware and software to control the maze using my Google Nexus One, using only what I could find in my (sadly very small and limited) workshop.

I started at about 7pm and by 5am the next morning it was complete. I might add that this is my very FIRST Android project aside from Hello Android, and I can't even claim to have written very much at that. It was a duct-taped together mashup of Demokit (provided by Google), and various accelerometer demo code samples provided around the web.

Sorry about the fluorescent lighting reflecting off the screen of my phone, hopefully you can see everything.

Completely unrelated to my day job as database and software technician, but I'm hoping to build bridges between the two: www.pcdev.co.nz

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• phone
• mobile
• android
• adk
• accessory
• development
• kit
• io2011
• control
• ball
• maze
• labyrinth
• pcdevexo
• diy
• technology
• electronics

[abakker0]

check out my 1980 version where the computer controls the maze and gets the ball all the way through it using two imsai and one altair computer.

[pcdevltd]

@abakker0 Cool, do you have a link?

[Backwardsman97]

He sounds exactly like the guy from flight of the concords

[pcdevltd]

@Backwardsman97 Come visit New Zealand - we all sound like the guy from Flight of the Concords! :)

[Backwardsman97]

@pcdevltd Haha that would be an awesome place then.

[D4rQW4v3]

oh wow I'd like to control army of droids

[Vet242]

i like to android&game fisZica

[pcdevltd]

@tzkelley Whoa, baby steps dude! You're not the first person to suggest that though. Considering that this was my first Android program ever besides Hello Android, and my limited Java experience is more than 10 years old, and that I gave myself one night to complete it, imho it was a worthy goal that I reached. Having said that, I am reading up on things that will be needed for a maze solver. If I get that far you can be sure I'll post another video of it.

[pcdevltd]

@ntchil OK, the link to the Instructable is up - be sure to vote for me in the competitions! I'm signed up for both the Microcontroller and Toy comps at the moment - Cheers!

[pcdevltd]

@ntchil Thanks! I'll be submitting a full Instructable with source code attached in the next day or so. I'm just finalising some details, so keep an eye out for it on instructables. com - I'll post a link here as soon as it's up.