Connect 4

Group 03 Project Documentation

Steven Donahoe
Rachel Rohr
Steven Terrana
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Description
We created an interactive Connect Four board to hang on a wall in Benedum Hall. Two players
take turns placing their hand over one of the seven IR sensors to indicate in which column they
would like to go. The lowest available square in the column is populated with the correct color
of the player, alternating between green and red. If a player attempts to place a marker in a
column that is already full, the piezo element beeps three times. A servo motor rotates an arrow
back and forth between Player 1 and Player 2 to indicate whose turn it is. After each turn, the
Arduino checks for a winning string of four; once a player has won, music is played and the
board is reset. If there is a tie, the board LEDs flash T I E and then reset the game after 5
seconds. A reset pushbutton is also available for use during a game.

Bill of Materials
Obtained from Lab/Arduino Kits
Manufacturer/
Vendor
Arduino

Vilros

Part Description
(Quantity)
Analog Infrared
Distance Measuring
Sensor 20-150 cm
(7)
Arduino Uno R3
Board (2)
330 Resistors
(84)
Piezo Element (1)

Vilros

Pushbutton (1)

Vilros

Servo Motor (1)

SG90

Controls the arrow to designate

which player's turn it is

Vilros
Texas
Instruments

Jumper Wires
Shift registers (2)

74HC595

Used to control RGB LEDs

Arduino
Vilros

Breadboards (8)
Power/Ground
Wires (450+ ft)

Model Number
SEN05312B

PKM17EPP-4001-B0

Notes
Used for player input on deciding
which column to play

Microcontrollers for the game

board
Pull down resistors for RGB
LEDs
Will play music when someone
wins the game
One pushbutton to clear the board

Used to connect Arduinos, shift

registers, IR sensors, etc.
Used to connect LEDs and
sensors to power and ground

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Obtained Elsewhere
Manufacturer/
Part Description
Vendor
(Quantity)
Amico
50 Pcs 5mm Round Head
Common Cathode RGB
Light LED Emitting
Diodes (2)
Radioshack
Perfboard Combo Pack:
2-Pack (3)
Radioshack
Pre-Punched IC-Spacing
Perfboard (2)
Texas
Shift registers (10)
Instruments

Cost

Model
Number

$10.94

$11.97
$6.98
$7.95

Notes
(2) RBG LEDs be in each board
square: (42) squares for (84)
total RGB LEDs

2760328

Used to hold and connect LEDs

and resistors
276-1396 Used to hold and connect LEDs
and resistors
74HC595 Used to control RGB LEDs

Fabricated
Part Description
Wood for Game board

Notes
Wooden structure as seen in pictures

Tape (Medical/Masking/Gorilla)

Used to secure the board components

Arrow and Player 1/Player 2 signs

To the right of the board, connected to the servo motor

and used to indicate turns (made of unused cardboard)

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System Design
(7) IR Sensors

Servo
Motor

(12) Shift
Registers
(2) Each
Breadboard

Piezo
Element
Pushbutton

(2) Arduino Unos

(84) RGB LEDs

(2) Each Square

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There are (2) RGB LEDs in each

square.
(6) rows by (7) columns yields (42)
squares for a total of (84) RGB LEDs

On the inside left side of the board,

there is (1) breadboard holding (2)
shift registers and its associated wires
for each row.
In total, (6) breadboards hold (12)
shift registers.

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On the outside right side of the board,

a breadboard holds the piezo element
and pushbutton.

The servo motor is also on the outside

right side of the board. It has an
arrow taped to it which can rotate
between Player 1 and Player 2 signs.

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Circuitry
Master Arduino:

To Breadboard
To Breadboard
To Slave GND

To Piezo Element
To Servo Element

To Column 1 IR
To Column 2 IR

To SR Pin 14
To SR Pin 12

To Column 3 IR
To Column 4 IR
To Slave Pin A4

To SR Pin 11
To Pushbutton

To Slave Pin A5

IR: Infrared Sensor

SR: Shift Register

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Slave Arduino:

To Breadboard
To Breadboard
To Master GND
From Master 5v
To Column 5 IR
To Column 6 IR
To Column 7 IR
To Master Pin A4
To Master Pin A5

Note that the Master and Slave Arduinos are directly connected with (3) different
pins: A4, A5, and GND. Additionally, the 5V from the Master Arduino is fed to the
Vin on the Slave Arduino so they share a common voltage.

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Shift Registers:
Each shift register controls one row for one player, yielding a total of 12 shift registers.

To Column 6 LED

To +5 V

To Column 5 LED

To Column 7 LED

To Column 4 LED

Data In

To Column 3 LED

To GND

To Column 2 LED

To Latch Pin

To Column 1 LED

To Clock Pin
To +5 V

To GND

Data Out

The pins of the shift register are numbered as follows, which apply to the circuit on the following
page:
Pin 1

Pin 16

Pin 2

Pin 15

Pin 3

Pin 14

Pin 4

Pin 13

Pin 5

Pin 12

Pin 6

Pin 11

Pin 7

Pin 10

Pin 8

Pin 9

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All shift registers share a common Clock Pin, which is connected to Master Arduino Pin 3.
All shift registers also share a common Latch Pin, which is connected to Master Arduino Pin 4.
The shift registers must be connected in a specific order for the code to properly pass in the bits
that light the correct colors of the correct LEDs. Pin 14, the Data In pin of each shift register,
receives the data from the Arduino pin or from the previous shift register. Pin 9, the Data Out
pin of each shift register, passes on the remaining bits to the next shift register. The shift
registers are connected as follows. Note that the upper text of each shift register refers to Pin 14
and the lower text refers to Pin 9.

SR
for
P1 R1

From SR P1 R2

SR
for
P2 R1

From SR P2 R2

To SR P1 R6

SR
for
P1 R2

From SR P1 R3

SR
for
P2 R2

To SR P1 R1

SR
for
P1 R3

From SR P1 R4

To SR P2 R1

SR
for
P2 R3

To SR P1 R2

SR
for
P1 R4

From SR P1 R5

From SR P1 R6

SR
for
P2 R4

From SR P2 R1

To SR P1 R5

From SR P2 R5

To SR P2 R3

SR
for
P2 R5

To SR P1 R4

SR
for
P1 R6

From SR P2 R4

To SR P2 R2

To SR P1 R3

SR
for
P1 R5

From SR P2 R3

From SR P2 R6

To SR P2 R4

SR
for
P2 R6

From Arduino
Master Pin 5
To SR P2 R5

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The image below shows the (12) shift registers set up before the wires going to the RGB LEDs
were added. At this point, all shift registers properly connected to +5 V and GND. All Clock
pins and all Latch pins are connected. Additionally, the Data In, Data Out, connections as
described in the previous page are set up. Note that the three wires that must be connected to
the Arduino Master are not shown.

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Each row contains (7) RGB LEDs. One shift register controls one rows green leg of each LED and another shift register controls the same rows red leg of each LED. One rows LEDs
are set up as follows:

The color leg of each RGB is indicated by P#. Player 1 is green and Player 2 is red.
See the RGB leg schematic to the right. Each LEDs ground leg must also be connected to GND.
Column number is indicated by C#. SR# is the shift register of the associated player.
All resistors used were 330 .
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Analog Infrared (IR) Distance Measuring Sensors:

The cables for the IR sensors have three wires. All (7) red wires must be connected to +5 from
either Arduino. All (7) black wires must be connected to GND from either Arduino. The yellow
wires must be connected to the following pins:
Column 1
Master A0

Column 2
Master A1

Column 3
Master A2

Column 4
Master A3

Column 5
Slave A0

Column 6
Slave A1

Column 7
Slave A2

Servo Motor:
The servo motor has three wires. The red wire must be connected to +5 from either Arduino.
The brown wire must be connected to GND from either Arduino. The orange wire must be
connected to Master Arduino pin 9.

Pushbutton:
The pushbutton should be set up as follows:

Top Left to +5 V
Bottom Left to 330
resistor then to GND

Bottom right to
Master Arduino pin 2

Piezo Element:
The piezo element has a positive and negative side. The positive side has a (+), indicating that
that leg should be connected to Master Arduino pin 10. The other leg must be connected to
GND from either Arduino.

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