Blind Persons Game Project - Lawn Darts - Proximity type sensor

Support Q&A
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Hello All, It is National AccessAbility Week in Canada, I have been tasked to create a Game for the Visually Impaired. We decided to attempt “Lawn Darts” (padded of course! :wink: . I am looking for sensor the can tell the distance from a receive (0-30meter+) i think in would need to be radio type? maybe blue tooth? or Wifi if players set up hot-spot perhaps?
any suggestion would be greatly appreciated.
John Naskalski

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jnaskalski

Thank you for contacting DigiKey , I have posted this internally to see if some of the engineers can give some thoughts on how to make this work .

Thanks Craig

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Thank you! Very much appreciated! :wink:

I was thinking something like the “theremin” instrument type of concept.

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Hello @jnaskalski,

This project falls on the hard side of engineering as it is difficult to reliably determine the distance to an object.

May I recommend you explore two technologies including:

Please let us know if you were successful.

Sincerely,

Aaron

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Thank you Aaron,
Yes, I agree. This project does fall on the hard side of engineering, I love a challenge.
I have quickly reviewed your suggestions and will go into a deep dive into each, The LiDAR suggestion was also suggested my my colleague who is the “AUTOMATION/CONTROLS DESIGNER LEADER”. I will discuss with him further, and you second option is very interesting and new to me. I have been learning about Bluetooth and it capabilities this weekend, and the “UWB” in conjunction with Bluetooth (which is a must, to connect with players). This seems to be on track with scope of this project.
Have you heard of the product called “Tile Tracker”? it’s a Bluetooth Car key and/or phone finder. I will be checking and keeping updates as thigs develop.

“We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.”
-John F. Kennedy

-Thank you
John Naskalski

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Hello @jnaskalski,

I wish you the very best on your project.

The tile trackers look interesting. Perhaps you will be able to reverse engineer the technology to find something useful to your project.

Sincerely,

Aaron

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Thank you.
[UPDATE] 12-6-2025
I will be using the suggested UWB RAYAX transmitter with the ESP32-S2-DEVKITM-1U-N4R2,
utilizing UWB, BlueTooth, Wifi.
darts will also have vibration, sound and braille.
I will be placing an order tomorrow. Is there DigiKey sticker I can get??

“Start by doing what is necessary, then what is possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible”

  • St. Francis of Assisi

-Thank you
John Naskalski