ERS SlapBot
Completed: April 2026
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. A Xiao ESP32S3 Sense identifies the QR codes on the cards and communicates wirelessly via ESP-NOW. The code can be easily adjusted to play with whatever rules you'd like.