ERS SlapBot

(In progress)

Description:

The game of Egyptian Rat Screw is a speed-based card game which involves dealing and slapping cards. I loved this game growing up and fondly recall playing with my friends on the bus ride to math tournaments. Because the game involves reaction-based slapping, it's not possible to play online against a computer... until now!

The slapping mechanism is controlled by a stepper motor with a half-gear which slips and allows the spring to quickly pull down the arm. Rather than generating the slap motion directly from the motor, this instead mimics the elasticity of human movement, making it less robotic and much more lifelike. The video below shows the slapping mechanism in action. An ESP32-CAM is mounted separately and scans for QR codes on the cards.