You’ve probably been to an arcade or fair and seen a basketball game that keeps track of how many shots you’ve made for fun and prizes. If you’d like to have one of these at home, iTapArcade is selling the HOOPS:bit mini basketball goal – an augmented goal which keeps track of shots automatically, while also helping you to learn about programming.
The system uses a Raspberry Pi Pico board for processing, along with an IR proximity sensor to detect when the basketball goes through the hoop. While it might be possible to program the Pi Pico directly, the system is meant to be used with a Micro:bit board, and works with either the original or V2 version.
As shown in the video below, the system counts up with each shot, and plays a little melody to celebrate your success. Example code is found here, which could certainly be modified as needed to suit your purposes. It looks like a great gift for active and inquisitive kids (or adults), and could be fun at parties and the like!
Of course, if you want a good way to show off your score to onlookers, you might check out the 7-segment display unit featured here, standing at nearly 4 inches tall, or this arrangement of addressable LEDs in a 7-segment configuration.
