Overview

For the Tufts Robotics' Robot-a-ton, my team built the UnoManic, an assistive device that allows users with fine motor disabilities in their hands to play cards. The UnoManic was designed to target three major issues users would experience when playing cards: drawing, holding/selecting, and playing cards. The Unomanic operates on 4 buttons, resulting in a simple control system for the user. With the first button press, a card would be dispensed into the middle dock. Pressing the middle button would shift the docks left or right using a stepper motor. Finally, the last button would play the card. 

Challenges

• Due to the limited time constraint, several portions of the UnoManic were held together with tape. 

• The first iteration of the card drawer had little friction, resulting in excess cards being drawn at once. To resolve this issue, several card dispensers were made using materials including fabric, wood, acrylic, and tape until the desired friction level was achieved.

• The stepper motor did not move when powered during the final presentation. Instead, the presentation showcased the working components and explained how the button presses would move the card docks to the selected card.