Kinetic Gyroscopics: Circle Heli Desktop Game

The Circle Heli (often called the Helicopter Carousel) is a wildly impressive mechanical physics demonstration disguised as a video game. Instead of playing "Flappy Bird" on a screen, the player must physically throttle a massive, real drone propeller mounted on a counterweighted fulcrum arm. The goal is to perfectly tap the PWM throttle, keeping the physical helicopter arm hovering in the "Safe Zone" while dodging visual obstacles!

The Motor Lift Kinematics (NPN PWM Gate)

You cannot connect a 3.7V Coreless Drone Motor directly to an Arduino. It pulls 1.5 Amps, which will immediately incinerate the ATmega processor chip.

1. The 5V PWM signal from Pin 9 must pass into the GATE of a high-speed NPN Transistor (like a TIP120 or an IRF520 MOSFET).
2. The user pushes an Arcade Button rapidly.
3. if (buttonState == LOW) { throttle += 5; } else { throttle -= 2; }
4. analogWrite(motorPin, throttle);
5. The MOSFET violently pulses 3.7 Volts into the coreless motor. The propeller spins up to 30,000 RPM. The downward thrust overcomes the physical weight of the carbon-fiber arm, and the helicopter literally lifts off the desk, swinging in a circle on its rigid axis!

Rotational Tracking (Rotary Encoders)

The Arduino acts as the game engine, and it must know exactly how high the helicopter has physically lifted.

• The pivot point of the massive arm is bolted directly to a standard 10K Potentiometer or a Optical Rotary Encoder.
• As the arm lifts, the analog reading changes from 0 to 800.
• The Arduino compares the physical height (AnalogRead > 500) to a randomly generated "Obstacle Wall" displayed on an adjacent massive LED Matrix or LCD screen.
• If the user drops the throttle and the physical arm falls below Analog 300 when an obstacle is present on the screen, the game sounds a massive buzzer alarm—Crash!

Electromechanical Kit

• Arduino Uno/Nano (The central physics engine).
• 8520 Coreless Drone Motor + 55mm Propeller (Standard brushed mini-drone hardware).
• IRF520 MOSFET Module or TIP120 Transistor (For massive PWM current routing).
• High-grade Linear 10K Potentiometer acting as the ultra-smooth mechanical axis pivot point.
• A 3D-Printed counterweight base and a long carbon-fiber or wooden dowel rod!