Marker Board with bluetooth for programming via smartphone app

[~Solo~]

So I was at the Campaign walkon on Sunday and I had a bit of a thought whilst trying to find someone to shoot at on the Jungle field.

Simple circuit boards are, at the best of times, a bit of fiddle to program what with opening up the grip, flicking dip switches, pulling triggers etc. OLED displays are better but still require multiple menu scrolling and the pressing of tiny buttons. After-market boards with many many more options must be a proper nightmare.

Surely the obvious evolution is for the board to have a bluetooth chip so that it can be programmed from a smartphone or bluetooth equipped laptop / tablet with the appropriate app. Not only would the complexity of programming be simplified with a finger friendly set of scroll wheels and buttons but multiple configurations could be saved, grips would not need to be opened, performance data could be downloaded, multiple markers could be controlled from a single app and tournament locks would be easy to apply with a simple pin code entered by an umpire / official.

It struck me as so bleeding obvious that I had to search on here to see if someone had already done it but I could find anything. Luxe appear to have programming via a USB cable to a PC as do the after-market Tadao boards but that's all I could find.

Do I need to patent the idea and call Jony Ive to get working on the UI??

Any thoughts people? I can't possibly have thought of it first!

 

[Gee Tee]

Would potentially allow you to change settings remotely on the fly, and even from outside the field depending on bluetooth range. Illegal for tournament play and a lot of walk on sites won't like it either

 

[~Solo~]

... and tournament locks would be easy to apply with a simple pin code entered by an umpire / official.

But you can adjust on the fly at the moment anyway with OLED / LCD programming

 

[WingNut]

But you can adjust on the fly at the moment anyway with OLED / LCD programming

Yes, but you would be seen fiddling with the buttons on the gun, thus drawing attention to yourself.

 

[Canon Fodder]

You can do it with a race cocker with a lead and a palm pilot, I think that was the only way to do it on them.

 

[F3Z]

It would only work if tournament venues had the proper equipment for tracking every marker on the field to make sure the settings are still correct. But who's going to invest in the required kit for the early adopters? Probably nobody. Better still would actually be a WiFi chip and push button connection. This means it has to connect through a router, a single computer with a basic capabilities would be able to connect and scan all markers much more simply and the chance of anyone bringing their own router to an event it unlikely, but even if they did you would see the SSID pop up on basic bandwidth scanning. So yes you can use your phone as a router, but then it would be pretty obvious you were doing it.

 

[GhostD]

The idea is brilliant,not sure if the paintball community is ready for it though, love your thinking though! Can never have enough gadgets!

 

[~Solo~]

Wingnut - whipping out your Iphone on the field might be more conspicuous and time consuming! Remote programming from outside the field could be easily spotted by an umpire monitoring bluetooth radio with a laptop / tablet. Any markers that had their radio enabled mid-game (umpire would need a list of radio IDs for the markers in play) would be pulled from the game.

F3Z - The user, particularly one that uses the marker at a walkon or testing at home would need to be able to program the board without going through a tourney field router.

This doesn't of course have to be a technology that is aimed specifically for the tourney end of the market. Plenty of R&D cash is spent on scenario markers these days where the tourney lock rules wouldn't be such an issue. At the end of the day, whether it has been a tech development in paintball or any other sport for that matter, the rules or enforcement of rules has to evolve to keep up. This will have happened when ramping was first developed - the rule book had to change to accommodate the advances in technology and design.

 

[F3Z]

I never said anything about it being a specific router.. any router will do as long as when walking onto a tourney field the markers all default connect to the sites own network for monitoring.

 

[Gee Tee]

Still can't see any real benfit, and sure i will be too much hassle for organisers/ marshalls to monitor and enforce