Project

# Title Team Members TA Documents Sponsor
85 Poker Buddy: Chipless Poker Companion
Austin Abraham
Lorenzo Dumitrescu
Vishal Ramvelu
Eric Tang design_document1.pdf
final_paper1.pdf
photo1.png
presentation1.pptx
proposal1.pdf
video
# Poker Buddy: Chipless Poker Companion

# Team Members:
- Austin Abraham (austina5)
- Lorenzo Dumitrescu (ldumit4)
- Vishal Ramvelu (ramvelu2)

# Problem
Traditional poker games rely heavily on physical chips for betting, which can be cumbersome, error-prone, and prone to mismanagement or theft. Managing chip counts, handling physical money, and tracking bet amounts often slow down the game and can lead to disputes among players. In addition, determining whose turn it is during fast-paced games can be confusing and cause a lot of frustration between players. With the growing demand for digital integration in gaming, there is an opportunity to streamline the poker experience by eliminating physical chips and automating bet tracking and game flow. This is different from online poker because we want to maintain the in person experience of playing against your friends face to face, but without the inefficiencies of standard chips and markers that represent blinds.

# Solution
We propose a modular device that removes the need for physical chips while enhancing the poker-playing experience. Each player will use a dedicated device that features LED displays to show both their current balance and the money in the pot, along with a built-in turn indicator light that activates when it is their turn. We will use a force sensitive touch sensor to interpret different gestures—one tap for fold, two taps for check, and a long hold for call—eliminating the need for manual chip handling to signal actions. Additionally, five colored buttons correspond to different chip denominations for quick and easy betting. While we could use some type of sensor for these buttons, we want to maintain the tactile feel and choose to use buttons for our design. These devices will wirelessly connect to a centralized mobile/web application that manages buy-ins, tracks all player balances, and synchronizes game status in real time, ensuring an efficient and error-free gaming experience. Although these devices will not track cards, they must handle the real-time logic of betting, maintaining balances, and managing turn order without relying on a computer.
The game logic is distributed and managed by the PCBs in each Poker Buddy. This means that each Poker Buddy keeps track of:
- Whose turn it is to bet (reflected by the turn signal LED).
- The current bet amounts and how they contribute to the pot(reflected by LCD display).
- The players’ individual balances(reflected by another LCD display).
- The outcome of each hand (i.e., when a player wins, the entire pot is automatically credited to their balance).
These devices communicate wirelessly with each other and can optionally sync with a centralized mobile application for overall game monitoring and account management by the host of the game (this will just be used for buying in chips and determining payouts at the end). The system is designed to be portable and is powered by disposable batteries, ensuring flexibility and ease-of-use in various settings.

# Solution Components

## Sensor Subsystem
The Sensor Subsystem captures all user inputs without the need for physical chips:
- Force Sensitive Touch Sensor: An FSR (Force Sensitive Resistor) module will detect user gestures and differentiate between a single tap (fold), double tap (check), and long press (call) based on the force and duration of touch.
- Button Array: A set of 5 tactile push buttons, each in a distinct color, will represent specific chip denominations for placing bets.
## Microcontroller and Processing Subsystem
This subsystem processes inputs, drives outputs, and manages wireless communication:
- ESP32-WROOM-32 Module: Serving as the core microcontroller, the ESP32 provides built-in WiFi/BLE connectivity for real-time data exchange with the mobile/web application as well as handling the logic for the game.
- LED Displays: Two displays (7-segment LED displays such as the LTL-307EE) will show the player's balance and the current pot amount.
- Turn Indicator LED: A dedicated LED will signal when it is the player's turn, ensuring immediate visual recognition.
- Voltage Regulator: A voltage regulator such as the LM2596 DC-DC Buck Converter will ensure a stable power supply to the ESP32 and peripheral components.
- Power Supply – Disposable Batteries: The device is designed for portability and can be powered by disposable batteries (AA battery packs) or via a direct power connection.

## User Subsystem
The User Subsystem integrates physical device interaction with a digital game management system:
- Physical Interface: The combination of the LED displays, turn indicator, force sensitive touch sensor, and colored buttons creates an intuitive interface that replaces traditional chip handling.
- Mobile/Web Application: A dedicated application will allow users to buy in, view real-time balances, monitor the pot, and receive instant updates on game status, seamlessly synchronizing data across all devices.
- Secure Communication: Robust wireless protocols will ensure that all transactions and game data are transmitted securely and accurately between the Poker Buddy devices and the central application.

# Criterion For Success
- Real-Time Status Updates: The system must update player balances, pot amounts, and turn indicators on the app within five seconds in at least 90% of cases.
- Accurate Gesture Recognition: The force sensitive touch sensor should reliably distinguish between a single tap (fold), double tap (check), and long press (call) with a false detection rate below 2%.
- Reliable Wireless Communication: The ESP32 module must maintain stable and consistent connectivity with the mobile/web application, achieving at least a 90% connection success rate during active gameplay.
- User-Friendly Interface: The physical device should offer clear visual feedback through its LED displays and turn indicator, ensuring that users can operate it intuitively without the need for physical chips.
- Game is Mathematically Correct: Since poker involves complex betting logic, the system must correctly update sums, properly rotate blinds around the table, and accurately calculate winnings. The distributed game logic must ensure that all arithmetic and game state transitions are mathematically correct and robust against errors.

Healthy Chair

Ryan Chen, Alan Tokarsky, Tod Wang

Healthy Chair

Featured Project

Team Members:

- Wang Qiuyu (qiuyuw2)

- Ryan Chen (ryanc6)

- Alan Torkarsky(alanmt2)

## Problem

The majority of the population sits for most of the day, whether it’s students doing homework or

employees working at a desk. In particular, during the Covid era where many people are either

working at home or quarantining for long periods of time, they tend to work out less and sit

longer, making it more likely for people to result in obesity, hemorrhoids, and even heart

diseases. In addition, sitting too long is detrimental to one’s bottom and urinary tract, and can

result in urinary urgency, and poor sitting posture can lead to reduced blood circulation, joint

and muscle pain, and other health-related issues.

## Solution

Our team is proposing a project to develop a healthy chair that aims at addressing the problems

mentioned above by reminding people if they have been sitting for too long, using a fan to cool

off the chair, and making people aware of their unhealthy leaning posture.

1. It uses thin film pressure sensors under the chair’s seat to detect the presence of a user,

and pressure sensors on the chair’s back to detect the leaning posture of the user.

2. It uses a temperature sensor under the chair’s seat, and if the seat’s temperature goes

beyond a set temperature threshold, a fan below will be turned on by the microcontroller.

3. It utilizes an LCD display with programmable user interface. The user is able to input the

duration of time the chair will alert the user.

4. It uses a voice module to remind the user if he or she has been sitting for too long. The

sitting time is inputted by the user and tracked by the microcontroller.

5. Utilize only a voice chip instead of the existing speech module to construct our own

voice module.

6. The "smart" chair is able to analyze the situation that the chair surface temperature

exceeds a certain temperature within 24 hours and warns the user about it.

## Solution Components

## Signal Acquisition Subsystem

The signal acquisition subsystem is composed of multiple pressure sensors and a temperature

sensor. This subsystem provides all the input signals (pressure exerted on the bottom and the

back of the chair, as well as the chair’s temperature) that go into the microcontroller. We will be

using RP-C18.3-ST thin film pressure sensors and MLX90614-DCC non-contact IR temperature

sensor.

## Microcontroller Subsystem

In order to achieve seamless data transfer and have enough IO for all the sensors we will use

two ATMEGA88A-PU microcontrollers. One microcontroller is used to take the inputs and

serves as the master, and the second one controls the outputs and acts as the slave. We will

use I2C communication to let the two microcontrollers talk to each other. The microcontrollers

will also be programmed with the ch340g usb to ttl converter. They will be programmed outside

the board and placed into it to avoid over cluttering the PCB with extra circuits.

The microcontroller will be in charge of processing the data that it receives from all input

sensors: pressure and temperature. Once it determines that there is a person sitting on it we

can use the internal clock to begin tracking how long they have been sitting. The clock will also

be used to determine if the person has stood up for a break. The microcontroller will also use

the readings from the temperature sensor to determine if the chair has been overheating to turn

on the fans if necessary. A speaker will tell the user to get up and stretch for a while when they

have been sitting for too long. We will use the speech module to create speech through the

speaker to inform the user of their lengthy sitting duration.

The microcontroller will also be able to relay data about the posture to the led screen for the

user. When it’s detected that the user is leaning against the chair improperly for too long from

the thin film pressure sensors on the chair back, we will flash the corresponding LEDs to notify

the user of their unhealthy sitting posture.

## Implementation Subsystem

The implementation subsystem can be further broken down into three modules: the fan module,

the speech module, and the LCD module. This subsystem includes all the outputs controlled by

the microcontroller. We will be using a MF40100V2-1000U-A99 fan for the fan module,

ISD4002-240PY voice record chip for the speech module, and Adafruit 1.54" 240x240 Wide

Angle TFT LCD Display with MicroSD - ST7789 LCD display for the OLED.

## Power Subsystem

The power subsystem converts 120V AC voltage to a lower DC voltage. Since most of the input

and output sensors, as well as the ATMEGA88A-PU microcontroller operate under a DC voltage

of around or less than 5V, we will be implementing the power subsystem that can switch

between a battery and normal power from the wall.

## Criteria for Success

-The thin film pressure sensors on the bottom of the chair are able to detect the pressure of a

human sitting on the chair

-The temperature sensor is able to detect an increase in temperature and turns the fan as

temperature goes beyond our set threshold temperature. After the temperature decreases

below the threshold, the fan is able to be turned off by the microcontroller

-The thin film pressure sensors on the back of the chair are able to detect unhealthy sitting

posture

-The outputs of the implementation subsystem including the speech, fan, and LCD modules are

able to function as described above and inform the user correctly

## Envision of Final Demo

Our final demo of the healthy chair project is an office chair with grids. The office chair’s back

holds several other pressure sensors to detect the person’s leaning posture. The pressure and

temperature sensors are located under the office chair. After receiving input time from the user,

the healthy chair is able to warn the user if he has been sitting for too long by alerting him from

the speech module. The fan below the chair’s seat is able to turn on after the chair seat’s

temperature goes beyond a set threshold temperature. The LCD displays which sensors are

activated and it also receives the user’s time input.

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