RIGEL - Real-World Interactive Games and Electronics Link: A Universal Sensor Interface Invented by Subverting Game Design Software for Authentic STEM Learning

Overview RIGEL (Real-World Interactive Games and Electronics Link) is a Windows application invented by the author (Michael Fenton). The research question in 2008 that produced RIGEL was: how do you raise student achievement and engagement in authentic hands-on science and mathematics investigations when you have nothing? At that time commercial data loggers and sensors in New Zealand schools cost NZD 400–1200 and were reserved for senior classes. Junior students were systematically excluded from the real-time measurement tools that make rates of change, surveys, and heartbeat graphs accessible. This constraint was not limited to under-resourced state schools. The author's xperiences across multiple schools, including a private international school, confirmed that improving science resourcing was consistently a low priority. The constraint was systemic. The RIGEL source code has been modified at intervals between 2008 to 2025, however the latest version is incomplete but functional for demonstration purposes. RIGEL (Real-World Interactive Games and Electronics Link) is a Windows application that connects low-cost DIY sensors, wearable biomedical sensors, and microcontrollers to real-time data logging, life function monitoring, and game control interfaces, via Bluetooth, WiFi, or cable. It was produced by 'design by subversion': a methodology in which a structural property of an existing tool is identified and exploited for a purpose its designers did not intend. The invention exploits a fundamental property of game design software: sensor input data can be interpreted as keyboard or mouse events, causing the game engine to respond to real-world physical phenomena rather than player input. By substituting sensor outputs for player controls, a drag-and-drop game engine becomes a universal graphical science instrument, at no additional cost beyond the game software already present in schools. RIGEL was developed using GameMaker, a widely available and a free (no cost) game design application. The choice was deliberate: if a tool already present in schools could be repurposed as a science instrument, the barrier to authentic data logging was eliminated entirely. Technical Design RIGEL auto-connects and recognises sensors on various microcontrollers or develoment boards, such as Picaxe, BBC Micro:bit, ESP8266, or ESP32. A USB-to-serial cable provides bidirectional high-speed communication with sensors and output devices using a compact data package protocol of the author's (Michael Fenton) design. The microcontroller sensor units support up to 8 simultaneous sensors and 8 output devices (motors, switches, lights). Data is transmitted up to 38400 baud and interpreted by the game engine as control inputs that cause dials, data points, graphs, and game characters to respond to real-world physical measurements. A key pedagogical feature of the encoding scheme is that each sensor is identified by a unique ASCII type byte within every data packet. RIGEL uses this type identifier to automatically generate the correct graph headings and units of measurement for whichever sensor is connected without any manual reconfiguration by the teacher or student. If the sensor unit is updated, for example, by replacing a temperature sensor with a light sensor, RIGEL will provide the correct headings for that sensor in its display. This removes a significant practical barrier to sensor-based learning and allows investigations to evolve organically as students' questions change. Sensor capabilities include: temperature, pressure, UV light, infrared light, visible light, water vapour, alpha radiation, water hardness, static electric fields, mobile phone signal strength, angles, magnetic fields, salinity, heart rate, motion, touch, digital switch state, and CPR compression pressure. Many sensors cost just a few cents and are constructed by students themselves. Wearable and Biomedical Applications RIGEL supports wearable biomedical sensors transmitting data via Bluetooth, WiFi, or cable for: Real-time life function monitoring Heart rate and motion data during physical activity 'Amazing Race' activities with remote sensors indicating student progress around a set course CPR training simulation — pressure sensors in a CPR manikin allow learners to practice compressions at the correct rate with immediate visual feedback Exercise-based game control — an exercise bike connected to RIGEL controls the vertical position of a virtual spaceship in a 3D flight simulator, combining physical activity with mathematics and programming RIGEL as a Multi-Mode Instrument Different game levels within RIGEL function as different instruments: Science lab sensor readout with real-time dials and graphs 3D flight simulator controlled by physical movement (e.g., exercise bike) 2D and 3D interactive games controlled by body-worn or DIY sensors Home security monitoring system Industrial measurement and control (IMC) simulation Robot remote sensing and bidirectional control — including the B9 Environmental Control Robot mobile science laboratory CPR training simulator using a CPR manikin embedded with respiration and heart compression sensors, providing real-time feedback RIGEL operates entirely offline without requiring modern AI or internet connectivity. It provides voice feedback in English, te reo Māori, or any other language. This demonstrates that language inclusion is a design variable achievable without specialist software. This open-ended design - "what does it measure and display today?" - models the scientific instrument design process itself: identifying a measurement need, selecting appropriate sensors, designing a display, calibrating, and interpreting results. The creativity and aesthetic dimension - contextual music, visual design, narrative - are also design variables, demonstratingthat science and art are not opposites but partners in instrumentation design. The Core Invention The core invention is conceptual: the recognition that a game engine's event-handling architecture — designed to respond to keyboard and mouse input — is structurally identical to a data acquisition system's requirement to respond to sensor input. By substituting one for the other, a freely available educational tool becomes a professional-grade science instrument. This is the same constraint-driven design principle that runs through the entire research portfolio: the founding question of the Nexus Research Group (how do you do authentic science with nothing?) applied to digital technology. The Microsoft New Zealand Innovative Teacher Award recognised RIGEL as a pioneering example of wearable technology in education. Michael Fenton represented New Zealand at the Asia Pacific Microsoft Innovative Teachers Conference in Kuala Lumpur, May 2009, presenting this work. Connection to the Longitudinal Research Portfolio RIGEL is the direct institutional descendant of the 1991 QBasic GIS mapping system — the first documented instance of Michael Fenton building a tool the available software was not designed for. The same principle connects: 1991: QBasic subverted to create a GIS mapping system for Giardia surveillance 2008: GameMaker subverted to create a universal science instrument (RIGEL) 2025: Casio calculator RECEIVE() protocol subverted to enable timed data logging without a COM error Each discovery used the same method: identify a structural property of an existing tool, exploit it for a purpose the designers did not intend, document the result. Source Code and Software Dependencies The RIGEL source code is provided as a GM6 file (GameMaker 6 project format), which requires GameMaker 6 to open and read. GameMaker 6 is no longer commercially available but is preserved on the Internet Archive, attributed to its original developer Mark Overmars: GameMaker versions 1.4 through 6.1: https://archive.org/details/gamemaker1-6 GameMaker 6.1 with patch for modern Windows (recommended): https://archive.org/details/gamemaker61a GameMaker 6.x DLL collection (may include relevant RS232 resources): https://archive.org/details/gamemaker6 A community-maintained tool for disassembling GM project files into human-readable format is also available at: https://github.com/orgs/gm-archive Note on Internet Archive reliability: The Internet Archive is a well-established non-profit repository founded in 1996, used by libraries, universities, and courts as a reference source. However, it is a single organisation dependent on donations and is subject to legal and technical risks. Individual deposits can be subject to copyright takedown requests. These links are provided for convenience; if they become unavailable, GameMaker 6 circulates widely through other preservation channels. The RIGEL source code itself is permanently archived here on Zenodo regardless of the availability of any third-party link. The RS232 DLL file required by RIGEL is included in this deposit. This DLL enables serial communication between RIGEL and Picaxe, Arduino, and compatible microcontroller boards. Files Included Teaching example RIGEL source code (GM6 format — requires GameMaker 6 to open) RS232 DLL dependency file (required for RIGEL serial communication) Microsoft Partners in Learning Conference presentation slides (PDF) Kuala Lumpur, May 2009 RIGEL application screenshots demonstrating sensor displays, graphs, CPR simulator, and flight simulator (PDF) RIGEL menu screenshot (JPG) Game Maker editor screenshot showing sensor-as-keyboard-event architecture (PNG) Related Works RIGEL conference paper: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19334228 TV series 'Lost in Space' B9 robot (RIGEL-compatible mobile laboratory): [DOI of B9 deposit — see Deposit 1] Casio calculator data logger: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19281514 Digital multimeter as data logger: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19325413 E-Learning Fellowship report: https://doi.org/10.5281/