Cross-Pollination
Magnetic-wand plant-hybrid puzzle across six identical autonomous cabinets, then an analog Seed Station finish.
On this page
Overview & player flow
Player uses a magnetic wand at a Pollination Cabinet to interact with nine plant specimens. They work trials across the Yellow, Purple, and Blue strains — identifying missing traits, creating hybrids, testing them, repairing unstable combinations. Completing the cabinet yields a Hybrid Index. They take the index to the Seed Station, use the Field Guide + worksheet to solve more clues, and assemble the correct materials in a clear specimen capsule.
Each of the six cabinets is autonomous. Networking / telemetry / coordinated effects are additive and never required for local gameplay.
Photos
Cross-Pollination cabinet.
Identity & readiness
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Device class | cross_pollination |
| Instances | cross_pollination_01 … _06 (6 cabinets, interchangeable) |
| Controllers | Arduino Mega (game brain) + ESP32 (show/service) |
| Room | Laboratory |
| Instance selector | 0–9 BCD thumbwheel on ESP32 (0 = unassigned/service) |
| Spec status | Design received (working spec); Brett original doc pending |
| Prototype status | Not yet built — first prototype target |
| Open questions | 10 (see below) |
Firmware
Latest firmware
| Image | Board target | Version | Download |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cross-Pollination application | Arduino Mega 2560 | v0.0.0 Placeholder | Placeholder — no build yet |
| Show-network firmware | ESP32 | v0.0.0 Placeholder | Placeholder — no build yet |
Changelog
Build list / BOM — per cabinet (×6)
Supplier part numbers are Placeholder until sourcing is locked. Components and quantities below are real (from the working spec).
| Qty | Component | Role / notes | Supplier P/N |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arduino Mega 2560 | Local game brain — needs 16 analog inputs | PH |
| 1 | ESP32 | Show-network / service endpoint | PH |
| 16 | Analog Hall sensors (49E / SS49E) | To Mega A0–A15; shared 5 V + GND | PH |
| 9 | 8×8 addressable RGB matrices | 576 px; WS2812B or WS2815 — verify | PH |
| 9 | UV / blacklight zones | Independent; MOSFET-driven | PH |
| 3 | 4-channel MOSFET PWM boards | 9 UV channels used | PH |
| 1 | Magnetic wand | No electronics | PH |
| 1 | DFPlayer Mini / YX5200 + microSD | Semantic cues → tracks | PH |
| 1 | Passive full-range speaker | A/B test in cabinet | PH |
| 1 | Regulated 5 V supply | Electronics + RGB (parallel injection) | PH |
| 1 | 12 V UV supply | Subject to tape verification | PH |
| 1 | 0–9 BCD thumbwheel selector | On ESP32 | PH |
Wiring & service diagram / harness
Hall sensor grid (real — 16 sensors → 9 chambers)
S0 ------- S1 ------- S2 ------- S3 | Box 1 | Box 2 | Box 3 | S4 ------- S5 ------- S6 ------- S7 | Box 4 | Box 5 | Box 6 | S8 ------- S9 ------ S10 ------ S11 | Box 7 | Box 8 | Box 9 | S12 ----- S13 ----- S14 ----- S15
Each chamber is scored from its four surrounding sensors. RGB: three data chains by row (1–3 / 4–6 / 7–9); distribute 5 V in parallel — never rely on matrix-to-matrix power transfer. Common ground with the controller.
Game logic
Chamber map (3×3)
1 Pure Branching | 2 Yellow/Flowering | 3 Pure Upright 4 Yellow/Branch | 5 Pure Flowering | 6 Purple/Upright 7 Purple/Branch | 8 Blue/Flowering | 9 Blue/Upright
Family pairs: Yellow = 2+4, Purple = 6+7, Blue = 8+9. Missing-form answers: Yellow missing Upright = 3; Purple missing Flowering = 5; Blue missing Branching = 1.
State machine
IDLE → TRIAL_1_{YELLOW|PURPLE|BLUE} → TRIAL_2_… → TRIAL_3_…
→ TRIAL_4_{STABLE|WEAK|FAILED} → TRIAL_5_{WEAK_REPAIR|FAILED_REPAIR}
→ TRIAL_6_STEP_{1|2|3} → FINALE → HYBRID_INDEX → RESET
- Idle: all 9 blacklights ON, RGB OFF, audio stopped.
- First valid wand activation starts the experience (its chamber ignored for the puzzle); start audio plays; Trial 1 begins.
- Trial 6 locked final order: Blue → Purple → Yellow. Wrong selection resets Trial 6 to step 1 only; Trials 1–5 stay complete.
- Finale → cabinet-wide RGB finale + optional UV + success audio → Hybrid Index → reset to idle.
Trial-specific game logic from Brett's brief is authoritative; engineering must not silently rewrite it.
Media manifest
Audio cue naming — example from the brief; final list TBD (not placeholder-fake, but not the frozen manifest either):
001_START · 010_T1_YELLOW_OK … 032_T3_BLUE_OK 040/041/042_T4_* · 050/051_T5_* · 060/061/062_T6_* 090…095_WRONG_* · 101…106_INDEX_*
Show-control / tunable values (future)
| Parameter | Target | Range | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| rgb_brightness PH | RGB matrices | 0–255 | 180 |
| uv_hold_ms PH | UV zones | 0–10000 | 3000 |
| success_volume PH | DFPlayer | 0–30 | 22 |
Open questions — shop demo checklist
- Characterize Hall sensors with the actual wand + cabinet; log raw values.
- Test centers / dividers / corners / distances / orientations → thresholds, filtering, ambiguity margin, sensitivity normalization.
- Identify actual RGB panel type (WS2812B vs WS2815) before freezing V/data.
- Validate one RGB row (3 chambers) + parallel 5 V power injection.
- Verify UV tape: voltage, polarity, pad topology, current, common +/− ; confirm 12 V rail. Prototype one MOSFET channel.
- Prototype DFPlayer UART playback + volume; A/B the passive speaker.
- Bring up Mega↔ESP32 semantic identity/status (DESCRIBE) exchange.
- Demonstrate ESP-NOW telemetry with NO gameplay dependency.
- Verify BCD selector changes logical identity (
_01…_06) without reflashing. - Confirm 3-data-chain RGB layout on real hardware.
Open design item: the Seed Station second phase (Field Guide, worksheet, capsule) is analog and not yet specified electronically.