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We wanted to show the science behind the popular computer games which use wireless sensors to sense motion. We used a Vernier Low-g Accelerometer and a LEGO® MINDSTORMS® NXT connected over Bluetooth to a computer running LabVIEW.

Students love using computer games that sense motion and simulate sports on the computer screen. We can show students some of the science behind these fascinating games and perhaps motivate them to learn more about science and engineering.

We used a LEGO NXT and a computer with LabVIEW and a wireless Bluetooth connection. Using a Vernier Low-g Accelerometer, we collected acceleration data during a golf swing and then quickly integrated the data to produce a velocity-versus-time graph. We used peak-finding algorithms to find the maximum club speed to simulate the ball’s motion. With a little practice, you can score a hole-in-one on the LabVIEW Golf Simulator.

For a full project description, visit http://engineering.vernier.com/general/projects/nxt-golf/

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 at 1:10 pm and is filed under Computer Parts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.