The puzzle is a part of the Ubiquitous Lab course WS 21/22. The puzzle will be integrated in the escape room which is modelled as a control room of a power station in the future (~2050).
This page shows the latest puzzle overview. For previous ideas build-up, please check /docs/Presentations
.
For progress updates, please check /docs/Minutes
.
A Solar storm hits the city which causes a power outage at a massive scale. A group of interns/visitors are struck in the control room. They have to solve a series of puzzles in order to fix the power supply and to get out of the power station eventually.
The objective of this puzzle is to recharge a super nuclear battery and reinstall it into the electric box in order to resume the power of the control room.
Initially the battery is placed on the electric box to supply emergengy electricity to the control room. However the battery is completely discharged after the sudden power outage. The nuclear battery charger is also inside the control room. It is being locked in a box for safety reason.
Next to the station is a small toy called HoloCube, which was built by the bored control room's technician as a funnier way to unlock the charger box in case the box's password is forgotten. The cube has the game 2048 loaded into it. (If you don't know about 2048, you can have a try here).
Thanks to the advanced technology, the battery is operated in fully wireless. It only needs to be placed on the platform for a couple of seconds until full charged. Then place it back to the electric box to supply the basic power of the control room.
The general flow of the puzzle is as shown below:
The HoloCube is a transparent display, where the emitting light is guided through a prism cube. The controller of the display is ESP32-PICO-D4 and an IMU (MPU-9250) is used as the human-machine-interface (HMI).
Because of the controller, the HoloCube has wireless connectivity and it can command the charger box to unlock.
The proposed model of HoloCube for the puzzle is showcased below:
PCB rev. 1
PCB rev. 3
The charging station is a wooden box locked by a mechanical lock. Inside the box is the wireless charging platform (charger), which is technically a NFC reader. A LCD will act as a battery level indicator to. There are also LED lightings inside the box.
Current outlook of the box:
The battery is the emergency power source of the control room but it is discharged at the beginning of the power outage. It should be placed back to the charging station to charge for a couple of seconds and then be placed back to the electric box to resume the power of the control room.
Technically, the battery is simply a small plastic box with a NFC sticker at the bottom. No power is required for this portable item.
The main component of the electric box is a NFC reader with battery level indicator enclosed in a plastic box, which is similar to the charger inside the charging station.
It is proposed using the cupboard in the control room as the electric box. The decorations required are to be discussed.