ECE.04R – Beep Baseball
Team Members Heading link
- Sachet Ranjan Bisi
- Marwan Morrar
- Daniela Ramirez
- Lupe Solis
- Cyrille Wambo
Project Description Heading link
“Beep Baseball” has been played by visually impaired athletes since the 1960s and has had over 200 teams since its very first game. Beep baseball requires a ball that looks similar to the dimensions of a softball but emits a beeping sound that can be heard by the players on the field to locate the ball. The beep baseballs being used today are very similar to the ones that were used back then and are not very reliable; the electronic components are easily damaged by the impact of a bat, suffer water intrusion issues, and cannot be adjusted for improved performance. The balls also have a poor center of gravity meaning that they are not balanced, and when thrown they tend to go in undesired directions, causing them to bounce or roll abnormally during games. Efforts are underway to increase the popularity of Beep Baseball and attract more players and teams to the sport including UIC’s effort to develop an improved ball.
We have worked hand-in-hand with our advisor, Ryan, who was on last year’s ECE Team 08 who designed the beep ball we are currently working on. We have fixed the power and charging circuitry of the beep ball, made the flashing process more user friendly, and now an updated PCB can be made. Also, we implemented an easy-to-use design for the USB-C cable that goes into the ball for charging and the number pad controller. All of the electronic components have been placed into an inner part of the ball, which has greatly improved impact protection. The batteries and speakers have been placed on opposite sides of the inner ball to help distribute weight as evenly as possible. The beeping is generated by a microcontroller that allows the players to adjust beep rate, pitch, and volume. Moreover, the parts that we used are all affordable and readily available, allowing a low-cost and easy production. Lastly, advancements in technology have made it possible to improve the design of the beeping ball and create more realistic playing environments, which is what we have worked on the new UIC BEEP BASEBALL!