Arduipong - Arduino and Processing

For this project I needed two components: the Arduino and Processing. The Arduino is attached to a very simple potentiometer circuit. The Arduino analogReads the potentiometer value and sends it via serial communication to Processing.

In Processing I am using and altering a sketch I found online by Thomas Koberger. He, however, did not connect the Arduino, so I needed to manipulate the sketch to add serial communication. The Arduino value from the potentiometer was then used in the Processing sketch to move the paddle.

For laser cutting I wanted to add an esthetic to the project. I really like wood and I thought it would be a nice material for a tech project. A laser cutter can be used to cut as well as etch on wood. So I used it to cut out the hole for the potentiometer and etch an image of Pong Pagong (the Philipino version of Big Bird on "Sesame!").

Here are the results of the laser cutting:
 

Top view

Side view

For improvements I would add a second potentiometer to the mix because right now it is only a single version. For a two player version I would make a squash type where both paddles are on the same side.

It was fun to learn about lasercutting in this assignment. It seems to be very easy once you have figured it out. Also, it makes projects look a lot better with relatively minimal effort.