Game: Joustball
Every year members of Stanford's graduate course in mechatronics (ME 218B) are summoned to a challenge of skill, endurance, and ingenuity. This year was no different...
" The knights of the realm have been called to compete in a glorious struggle testing both might and wit: Joustball. Knights may score points in five ways: 1. Unhorsing their opponent with their lance 2. Hitting their opponent with their lance 3. Shooting their opponent with foam balls 4. Shooting foam balls into their opponent’s goal, which is in their opponent’s Home Zone, and 5. Crossing the field into the opposite Home Zone first.
The game consists of three rounds, each round starting with an idle period, advancing into a “pas d’armes” period where knights race across the field and attempt to score points in the four above ways, and ending with an idle period once either knight has entered the opposing Home Zone. Knights are separated by a center divider which bisects the field over its entire length. Knights carry a 4 inch diameter 6 inch tall PVC “head” which emits infrared pulses for detection. If the opposing knight is able to knock off a knight’s head, the knight is unhorsed, and the game ends.
Each knight is allowed full ammunition of five balls at the start of the game, and is allowed to reload from a reload station in their Home Zone in the idle period at the end of Round 2. The reload station has a small cavity at 8 inches in height of 0.5 inch diameter in which an infrared sensor is housed. If a specific sequence and timing of infrared pulses are directed into this cavity, the reload station is activated and releases one ball from a hole at 9 inches in height. If the score is tied at the end of Round 3, a Sudden Death Round is activated, where the knights have one more chance to gain points."
Every year members of Stanford's graduate course in mechatronics (ME 218B) are summoned to a challenge of skill, endurance, and ingenuity. This year was no different...
" The knights of the realm have been called to compete in a glorious struggle testing both might and wit: Joustball. Knights may score points in five ways: 1. Unhorsing their opponent with their lance 2. Hitting their opponent with their lance 3. Shooting their opponent with foam balls 4. Shooting foam balls into their opponent’s goal, which is in their opponent’s Home Zone, and 5. Crossing the field into the opposite Home Zone first.
The game consists of three rounds, each round starting with an idle period, advancing into a “pas d’armes” period where knights race across the field and attempt to score points in the four above ways, and ending with an idle period once either knight has entered the opposing Home Zone. Knights are separated by a center divider which bisects the field over its entire length. Knights carry a 4 inch diameter 6 inch tall PVC “head” which emits infrared pulses for detection. If the opposing knight is able to knock off a knight’s head, the knight is unhorsed, and the game ends.
Each knight is allowed full ammunition of five balls at the start of the game, and is allowed to reload from a reload station in their Home Zone in the idle period at the end of Round 2. The reload station has a small cavity at 8 inches in height of 0.5 inch diameter in which an infrared sensor is housed. If a specific sequence and timing of infrared pulses are directed into this cavity, the reload station is activated and releases one ball from a hole at 9 inches in height. If the score is tied at the end of Round 3, a Sudden Death Round is activated, where the knights have one more chance to gain points."
Witness the Match