Capstone 1

This work was a Phase 3 Capstone 1 design project. Two previous teams developed a baseball launcher to be independently operated by a quadriplegic client, allowing him to coach his son's baseball team with a series of sensors and switches to launch ground balls, pitches, and pop flies. The goal of the Phase 3 team was to fix bugs and perfect the design.

Design Overview

The baseball launcher itself is an off-the-shelf Zooka ZS740 pitching machine. The previous phases attempted to attach the Zooka and framing system directly to the client's wheelchair but experienced hardware complications. As a result, the Phase 3 team decided to investigate using Bluetooth control to operate the machine from a distance while maintaining the same, or increased, functionality.

Hardware

The current version of the aiming system consists of a linear actuator for vertical movement and a servo motor for rotational/horizontal movement. An inertial measurement unit (IMU) is connected to a baseball cap for the client to control the launch angle of the baseball by moving his head. Microlight switches are used to control the firing/reloading procedures.

Electronics

The machine uses an Arduino Mega to process input from the IMU and microlight switches to aim, launch, and reload the baseballs. Motor drivers are used to control the movement of the linear actuator and servo motor. The Zooka ZS740 is capable of launching baseballs up to 70 mph, so the Phase 3 team looked to implement adaptive speed control.