02 - Basketball Shooting

Team Members:

Aaron Powers (atp2336), Andrew Zhang (adz399), Andy Jiang (aj35262), Eric Ly (ehl484)

Summary/Overview:

Traditional tabletop basketball games suffer from a fundamental flaw: once a player discovers the optimal lever displacement, the spring-loaded shooting mechanism makes every shot nearly identical, eliminating challenge and reducing long-term entertainment value.

Our team addresses this by redesigning two core elements of the game. First, we are replacing the spring-loaded catapult with a crank-driven shooting mechanism that requires the player to manually input force, making it significantly harder to replicate consistent trajectories. A motor-powered option is also included for demonstration purposes. Second, we are introducing a moving backboard that travels along the back plane, adding a timing element that forces players to coordinate both the strength of their shot and the moment of release.

The key engineering challenge lies in converting slow, limited human input into the rapid, high-velocity motion needed to launch a ball across a tabletop. A simple rotating link lacks the mechanical advantage to generate sufficient launch speed within the spatial constraints of a tabletop form factor. Our mechanism must therefore coordinate multiple motions to accelerate the ball quickly and release it at the correct angle, achieving a strong input-to-fast output conversion.

Together, these two mechanisms transform the game from a repetitive, memorizable action into a skill-based experience that demands continuous adaptation — making it both more challenging and more engaging over time.

Table of Contents: 

• 2.1 - Project Proposal Spring 2026Preview

• 2.2 - Project Prototype Spring 2026Preview