Presents "Bionically Bent"
home | management | marketing | construction | control

Yo ... That's how the system works. 

Mouth, Stomach and Intestines
(Digestive System)

You pour salt (which simulates alcohol) and beads (which simulate solid food) down the gullet. When this combination hits the stomach, some salt and all the beads are filtered into the intestines and passed to the toilet as waste. Some salt (the nutrients) pass through the stomach wall linings into the blood stream and eventually fall into the liver.

The Liver
The amount of poison that the liver is able to process controls the state of the heart, facial expression and reflex game. As salt passes through the stomach walls into the funnel on one side of the liver scale, the scale rotates and a light sensor detects the scale positions.
White - Sober
Grey - Happy
Black - Sick
There is a small hole in the bottom of the funnel so the salt in the liver gradually falls into the bladder and then is passed to the toilet as urine. As the salt falls from the funnel, the liver scale gradually rotates back to the sober state.

The Face
The face changes expression from sober, to happy to sick depending on the state of the liver scale. A light sensor detects the position of the eye brows and controls a motor that changes eye and mouth positions through a tricky set of gears and pulleys.

Heart (Circulatory System)
The heart is simulated by a rotating arm that makes the foam rubber heart go bibbity-bob. As the liver scale passes from sober to sick, the rotating arm spins faster and irregularly.

Reflex game(Nervous System)
Reflexes are simulated by a game. When the Bionic Boozer is challenged, a light turns on. The computer turns the light off at a random time. Then the hand slams down on a target at a speed determined by the state of the liver. You must beat the bionic hand to the target.

The Coin Sensor
The coin sensor enables the reflex game. The quarter rolls through a narrow channel until it hits a rotating plate at the end of the channel. A lower light sensor detects if any coin is in the channel. A higher light sensor detects if it is a quarter. If both light sensors are triggered, the rotating plate lets the quarter drop into a jar and begins the game. If only the lower light sensor is triggered, the penny, nickel or dime is dropped into the jar. Any suckers who try to fool the coin sensor, loose their coins!


Return to Build-It-Yourself.com


Build-It-Yourself, 426 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02138 Tel: (617) 547-9705 Email