target drills

[2Sirius]

It's been said in other threads that better fencers are better partly because of the short time between target or threat recognition and activation of muscular response. In light of this, has anyone tried the fencing targets that report the time between when it lights up and when you hit the target? It would seem to make sense that you would get a feedback to see if you are really getting faster or not, but I'm not sure how hitting a lighted target would translate to open bouts.

[Rabid Monk]

I'm currently working on a design for an electronic fencing target.
It involves a network of switches, each correlating to a target.
A target is randomly lit up (not yet sure how).
When hit, a target trips the switch, this causes a change in the overall current, which can be used to determine the location of the hit.
I just got the idea recently, so I'm still brainstorming.
I need reliable push witches for it.
The readout will be done by a hard-wired output or something, which will read accuracy, precision, and reaction time over time.
If anyone has advice or suggestions, please post them.

[Alain]

Hi,

I've never seen anything like this in action, so it'd be interesting to find out more. I know that in other sports (martial arts, for example), you can find the stimulus-response time, but as far as I know it's never really been done in fencing before.......................

Cheers

[Zilverzmurfen]

Originally Posted by Rabid Monk

A target is randomly lit up (not yet sure how).

This whole idea reminds me of those "Whack-a-mole" things at amusement parks...

This may sound stupid (because I don't know anything about electronics, ok ) but perhaps there is some kind of chip or something in those that you could use?

(Assuming you could get hold of one.)

[Rabid Monk]

You aren't the first to mention that, actually...

[cameroncrazy323]

There is a system you are talking about called target speed. PBT sells them through www.fencePBT.com. It's like 400$, and you can put it on like 4 different modes to measure reaction time and accuracy.

[GreenDot]

Monk, I would suggest you look into either a PIC (www.microchip.com I think, though I can't seem to get to it today) or 8051 based microcontroller for your project (lots of information at www.8052.com). Both have versions that can be cheaply programmed through your serial port. The PIC chips have quite a few resources on the web to help you out, so they would probably be best to start with if you don't have much experience with microcontrollers. If you haven't worked with circuits before, it will probably take you awhile to make anything useful, but it would be a much more flexible solution to use a microcontroller instead of something hardwired.

Just a thought,
-James

[Rabid Monk]

CameronCrazy,thank you, but I've seen that model.
I'm more ambitious.
I want an actual representation of a fencers torso, divided into many small targets. Not just a drill box, but a simulated fencer to practice against.
GreenDot, I'll bear those suggestion in mind.
I don't personally have much electronics experience, but I'm working with someone who has a degree in electrical engineering, and I'm posting at a aBum.com as well for information.
So, keep the ideas coming, and if there's any other features you'd like to see, feel free to suggest them.
(if it works, I may market it)

[ThatReallyHurt]

For durability, I would suggest using piezo elements covered with padding instead of switches. When struck, the elements will generate a short burst of electricity. Having a circuit monitor the element for that burst, then that circuit turns on your light or whatever.

If you're feeling really ambitious, you could check the amplitude of the generated electricity - the higher the amplitude, the harder you just hit it.

Good luck!

[Rabid Monk]

Originally Posted by ThatReallyHurt

For durability, I would suggest using piezo elements covered with padding instead of switches. When struck, the elements will generate a short burst of electricity. Having a circuit monitor the element for that burst, then that circuit turns on your light or whatever.

I've thought about peizos.
But I am not sure how hard you can hit them. If they're brittle (silicon or something), then they will shatter. Nor do I know how much they cost.
Another approach that's been suggested is using speakers behind the targets, and monitoring the feedback when they move after being hit.

[ThatReallyHurt]

Originally Posted by Rabid Monk

I've thought about peizos.
But I am not sure how hard you can hit them. If they're brittle (silicon or something), then they will shatter. Nor do I know how much they cost.
Another approach that's been suggested is using speakers behind the targets, and monitoring the feedback when they move after being hit.

Yes, they are pretty brittle, but you could recess them and pad them. Ironically, buying the piezo elements is often more expensive than going to Radio Shack or something and picking up a handful of little piezo buzzers, then taking them apart and extracting the elements.

Speakers would be an interesting approach too, but then you're probably going to be dealing with much smaller currents... I think that a little 8 ohm hobby speaker is also a little more expensive. Not sure about that, though.

[Zilverzmurfen]

Originally Posted by ThatReallyHurt

Speakers would be an interesting approach

...it would be nice to hear them go "Ouch!" and "Nice touch!"

[VorpalCat]

And, of course, a switch for Black Knight mode....