Make an infrared game

In this activity, students will design a fun infrared ‘tag’ game.

It ideally needs to be preceded by our input, process and output activity as students must draw on their earlier work for designing the game.

It’s one of a set of resources developed to aid the teaching of the secondary national curriculum, particularly KS3, supporting the teaching in engineering and design & technology (D&T).

Activity: Designing an infrared ‘tag’ game
Students will design a new version of the classic tag game using their electronics knowledge to create a fun interactive experience.

Learners will review our design brief to design a novelty “tag” game using emitter and detector circuits (which have been tested previously in input, process and output) to indicate when a player is “tagged”. The game needs to be easy to use and playable both indoors and outdoors.

As a class, students will review the key requirements of the brief and discuss these in pairs. They will then draw their design ideas with annotations. From their ideas, they’ll select one design for modelling using 3D CAD software. Finally, they should present their idea to the class for feedback on how it can be improved.

Download our activity overview for a detailed lesson plan on designing a fun infrared tag game.

The engineering context
Infrared technology has been used in the design of all sorts of fun devices, from TV remote controls to Wii remotes, mobile devices, and laser tag games. By understanding how this technology works, learners can start their journey to potential careers in computer games engineering.

Suggested learning outcomes
By the end of this lesson, students will be able to analyse a design brief. They’ll also be able to explain how research findings affect design ides as well as be able to generate ideas for a product. Finally, they’ll be able to produce a 3D CAD model of a design idea.

Download our activity sheet and related teaching resources
The activity sheet includes teachers’ notes, useful web links, and links (where appropriate) to the national curriculum in each of the four devolved nations; England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

All activity sheets and supporting resources are free to download, and all the documents are fully editable, so you can tailor them to your students’ and your schools’ needs.

Download our classroom lesson plan and presentation and please do share your highlights with us @IETeducation.