S.T.A.N.K. – Snowboard Terrain-Assisted Navigation Kit

On most if not all ski hills after a certain size, multiple areas are available to ride at, these hills are typically connected via trails, but normally they are either a downhill trail from one side to another with no simple way of returning via the same trail, or a somewhat long flat trail that skiers can traverse fine by using their poles, but snowboarders cannot as they don't have the same luxuries, the goal with this project was to create a solution to this problem by creating a portable and lightweight attachment that can quickly be placed on the snowboard to allow fast and enjoyable travel across these cross-country trails, in certain cases this might also enable the rider to ascent certain trail areas without the assistance of a tow bar or chairlift as well, though the design will only be initially intended for flat to slightly inclined trails

1. ~3sq ft. Laser Cut Plywood
2. 2 24.2v DC Brushless motors taken from old hoverboard
3. 2 Skateboard/Scooter Electronic Speed Controllers
4. 1 24v Rechargeable LiPo Battery
5. 1 Thumb/Finger Throttle
6. Additional wiring for connections including a connector for the respective LiPo output
7. Soldering Kit w/Soldier
8. Component Adhesives(I used wood glue and two-part epoxy)

Test the electronics at every stage of the development, no matter how you acquire the motors, battery, speed controllers, and respective connecting electronics, ensure that they work from the start, work how you want them to and continue to function as you continue.

This will save a lot of time in the long run since you will be able to catch issues much sooner in the process rather than after all of the wires and systems are crammed into a small space.

This is especially useful if you aren't extremely confident with your soldering skills like I am.

The next step is actually organizing your plans, wants, and requirements into an actual fleshed out design. For me this comprised of a relatively long ideation phase. Figuring out how I wanted the system to function, where to place the components, and how it would interface with the snowboard were all considerations I had to make. I ultimately came to the conclusion that the simplest and most effective design would be a pushing system that can be placed on top of the board and a place for the system to push into that is directly attached to the board.

The last "step" is comprised of actually making the design a reality. For me, this took many prototypes and attempts at different layouts and ideas to come to the final design depicted here. The actual assembly of this final design though could have easily taken me about half a day of total work to assemble, which includes laser cutting the wood following the modeled design, gluing the plywood together, inserting the electronics and ensuring its continued function, and then finally utilizing the system with the board