Project Overview
A number of coaches and athletes in the Genesee Region of Special Olympics New York are interested in adding bocce to the selection of sports in which athletes compete. In order to compete, athletes must be able to throw out the pallina, then roll the bocce balls onto the court. The device will assist athletes in performing these actions while preserving the strategic aspects of the game that come with selective ball placement.
Athletes will benefit from the physical competition as well as their new ability to participate in a social sport.The primary challenges of this project are:
- Designing a system that can be used by individuals with a wide variety of disabilities
- Designing a system that is portable and easily transferred from one athlete to the next
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Award No. BES-0527358.
Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
Administrative Information
- Project Name
- Adaptable Bocce Ball Launcher
- Project Number
- P08004
- Project Family
- Assistive Devices
- Track
- Assistive Devices and Bioengineering
- Start Term
- 2007-2
- End Term
- 2007-3
- Faculty Guide
- Dr. DeBartolo (ME)
- Faculty Consultant
- consultant name here (consultant dept here)
- Graduate Teaching Assistant
- none
- Primary Customers
- Laurie Kennedy, Regional Director
- Julie Bell, Program Specialist
- Robin Mitchell, Associate Director of Program
- Customer contact information
- Special Olympics New York (Genesee Region)
- lkennedy@nyso.org, 586-7400 x102
- 1 Grove St., Suite 216
- Pittsford, NY 14534
Team Documents
Project Background
A number of coaches and athletes in the Genesee Region of Special Olympics New York are interested in adding bocce to the selection of sports in which athletes compete. In order to compete, athletes must be able to throw out the pallina, and then roll the bocce balls onto the court. The current barrier to participation is that many athletes lack the strength and/or mobility to be able to throw or roll the balls used for bocce. The customer envisions a product that will be adaptable for athletes with a wide variety of sizes and abilities and usable on a variety of different bocce courts. The ideal device will provide assistance without removing elements of skill from the game that come with selective ball placement. Athletes will still be required to train for aim and proper launch speed/force. The device will make the game of bocce accessible to athletes participating in the Special Olympics, as well as casual participants.
Problem Statement
The fundamental problem for this project to solve, is to design a safe system that can be used by individuals with a wide variety of disabilities and be easily transferred from one athlete to the next and portability.
Objectives/Scope
1) Create a device that can be used for training local athletes to compete in Special Olympics bocce. 2) Create a device to make the game of bocce accessible to a wide range of participants. 3) Create an adapted bocce device that can easily be duplicated.
Senior Design II (Final Documents)
Detailed List of Prototype Cost
Copy of BOM SENIOR DESIGN-FINALIZEDP08004 Poster
Final Paper & 2 Page Project Summary
NSF_project_P08004_2-page_summary
Assembly Manual
Assembly Drawing and Custom Parts
Prototype Test Results
Copy of sensitivity and accuracy analysisSenior Design I Documents
Presentations & Customer Documents
Adaptable Bocce Ball Launcher Presentation
Adaptable Bocce Ball Launcher Mid-Project Review 2Drawings & Bill of Materials
P8004 RAMP ASSEMBLY DRAWINGOff The Shelf Parts
1544T300-Turn Table90128A247- 1/4-20 socket head cap screws
Other P08004 Documents
notes from detailed design review_2.15.08
Risk_Assessments_and_Mitigation
Design Concept Review with Customer
System Level Design
Core Team Members
Angela Marcuccilli-ME; Brad Johnson-ME; Bryan Fleury-ME; David Ferguson-ISE; Yash Singh-ME;
Strategy & Approach
Assumptions & Constraints
1. The team will design the device to work on bocce courts currently used by athletes in the Rochester area; accounting for differences in the courts, especially on hard, smooth, flat surfaces
2. Government and/or Special Olympics regulations
Issues & Risks
1. Skill aspect of the game will be lost with over design. 2. Devices will be too complicated for athletes to use/ learn. 3. Not all of the Athletes disabilities will be covered with one set of devices. 4. Devices will not be accepted or used. 5. Device does not have reproducibility/repeatability.
Planning
Intellectual Property Considerations
Preliminary Work Breakdown Structure
Concept Development
Establish Target Specifications
Published Documents
As you conclude the project, include links to all of your finished and fully polished documents here. The previous sections of the web site contain the entire design history of your project. This section contains the finished products. Add more links as needed.
Concept Design Review Documents (SD I)
Detailed Design Review Documents (SD I)
Managerial Design Review Presentation (SD I)
Technical Conference Publication (SD II)
Poster Publication (SD II)
Managerial Design Review Presentation (SD II)
Photo Gallery