Do you need a to find a more sanitary way to roll the dice at your next socially-distanced board game gathering? [CJA3D]’s pop-o-matic mason jar dice roller can roll the bones two different ways — either by hitting that big, inviting arcade button, or though a web app that everyone can access on their own phones.
We think this looks great, and is a great reuse of a glass jar. The brains of this operation is an ESP8266, which drives a continuous-rotation servo underneath the dice. Push the button or use the web app and the servo disturbs the plate, moving the dice around.
Besides the sanitary aspect, one benefit of using the web app is that there are four different speed presets for the servo. As a bonus, [CJA3D] included the files for a pair of printed 6-sided dice. Click through to the project to see it in action.
We know you take games seriously, and so do we. Just look at this dice roller that uses machine vision to ensure fairness.
Wouldn’t a IR sensor be more hygienic / contactless then an arcade button?
Some IR, ultrasonic, of Time Of Flight sensor, combined with hand gestures to change the numbers in your magic crystal jampot would be nice indeed.
Alternatively, go the other way and have microphones on your opponent. The dice are rolled by screaming in their direction.
Or just a reed switch to turn on the servo and one magnet for each player; no need to touch the device, just place the magnet near the reed switch. But anyway it is a very nice project and can serve as inspiration for “n” additional uses.
Best regards,
A/P Daniel F. Larrosa
Montevideo – Uruguay
Who remembers the “pop-o-matic” from the board game “Trouble”? You don’t need an ESP8266 or even electricity!