Featured Project

# Title: Electronic Martial Arts Paddles

Team Members:

- Liam McBride (liamjm2)

- Alexander Lee (asl9)

# Problem

Currently there is no good way to accurately quantify performance in Taekwondo training for drills such as speed and power drills. There exists electronic gear for automatic scoring by tracking the power and the location of the martial artists’ kicks, but that gear is only used in competition and is prohibitively expensive.

# Solution

We are proposing electronic target paddles with pressure sensors at different locations of the paddle and LED’s to measure power and speed for kicking during training. We will also facilitate reaction speed/timing drills via sound or blinking of the LEDs. Example paddle here:

[https://www.ctitkd.com/product-page/vision-kicking-target](url)

We would have our main system (pcb) be a separate box that would handle the inputs from the paddles, and connect to a display to show scores and statistics.

# Background

Both Liam and Alex are executives for the university’s RSO Competitive Taekwondo Club, and have practiced Taekwondo for 10+ years, competing at local to international levels.

# Solution Components

## Subsystem 1: Control Box and Display

Explain what the subsystem does. Explicitly list what sensors/components you will use in this subsystem. Include part numbers.

Custom PCB

Bluetooth receiver for connecting with the paddle and sending/receiving data and instructions:

The target paddles will be difficult to maintain if there were wires coming out of it to the PCB, so we will utilize bluetooth connection for the LED and sensors

HDMI Out to regular display or LCD screen:

Have an HDMI connection to a monitor or LCD screen directly from the PCB to display our scores using a health bar mechanism as commonly seen in video games.

We will also display statistics for our drills

Wall power/power supply:

We would need a constant source of power, which we would use a power supply. The power supply will be connected to a wall outlet.

Sound system/speaker (optional):

We will use speakers that play a sound when the target paddle is hit, along with the LED.

We will also use the speakers to give a sound cue for reaction drills

different sounds for different kicks or choosing right or left leg

## Subsystem 2: Electronic Paddle

Pressure/force sensor:

three of these sensors each placed at the front, middle, and rear side of the paddle to distinguish the location of the hits. Each of these sensors will measure how strong the hits were, and crossing a certain force threshold will indicate a valid hit. Since force sensors that handle high forces can be fairly expensive, we would need to come up with a way to dampen the impact or distribute the force, and then scale the measurement so we can use cheaper, lower threshold sensors. We are also considering the use of an accelerometer for a potentially more affordable option.

LEDs or LED strip:

These led strips will be an indicator for a valid hit,

or for reaction drills,

or each led with different colors will indicate which part of the paddle was hit.

Different colors for different kicks or choosing right or left leg

Bluetooth transmitter for connecting with control box

Battery power:

Since the components on the target paddles will be physically separate from the PCB box, we will need battery power to keep the LED and sensors operating without a direct power supply from the wall.

# Criterion For Success

- System is able to accurately track response times

- System is able to accurately measure force of strikes

- Bluetooth is working so we don’t resort to using wires

- Paddle and auxiliary machinery is able to withstand repeated strong blows without breaking. (> 10 strikes min)

- LED, speaker, and sensors are working in cohesion

- Display is accurately reflecting desired results.