Background
A conventional card game assumes that a player can hold, fan, inspect, and rearrange several cards at once. This project focused on reducing that physical demand with an object that could be held and repositioned using one hand.
The design had to use readily available materials and standard student-shop tools. It needed to reveal the card faces to the player while keeping them hidden from opponents, and it had to open without requiring fine finger control.
Approach
A selfie-stick hinge provides the main pivot and grip. Plastic panels rotate around a shared center, opening like a paper fan. Each space between panels holds one card, turning the entire hand into a single controlled object.
I led team meetings, coordinated communication with the professor, and kept weekly R&D reports aligned with project decisions. In the shop, I helped cut and drill the plastic panels using a vertical bandsaw and drill press.
The team translated the card-game sequence into mechanical requirements, selected an existing hinge as a low-cost motion source, fabricated the panels, and tested the open and closed arrangements with a real deck.
Impact
The resulting prototype demonstrated the complete interaction: hold one grip, fan the panels, and view the cards. A previously reported performance percentage is not published here because its test method still needs source verification.
Repurposing familiar hardware shortened the path from idea to physical test. The project also showed how small changes in friction and panel spacing can determine whether an adaptive device feels enabling or difficult to control.
