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Sink Your Balls Quickly With Pool-Cue Robots
AndreV writes "In another attempt to dehumanize our bar games, a Canadian engineer has turned the classic game of billiards on its head with his BilliardBots pet project, which consists of a series of remote-controlled mobile robots meant to replace the standard cue sticks normally used to pocket pool balls. While in his version the basic rules remain, unlike regular billiards, players in this version simultaneously rush to pocket their designated balls (they don't take turns), 'thus it's very competitive and fast,' the creator says. In order to keep tight reins on the mechatronic ball handlers' movements, he adapted a pair of Playstation controllers and says that playing 'requires dexterity, like a video game,' to control their 3.5-m/sec-maximum speeds. The 'bots are designed simply but effectively, using a 3-by-3-by-3-inch metal frame with an electronic board, two motors and rechargeable battery packs. Using a Bluetooth wireless communication protocol, its commands come from the wireless controller with single or double joystick selectable control (the other buttons are not used). Its other parameters are software programmable, such as maximum acceleration rate, maximum speed and maximum rotation speed."
If you don't mind, I'd rather not sink my balls as they've keep me in good stead for 50 years now.
I would prefer that they were not torpedoed by some cue-stick armed robot.
My wife concurs and she is bi-polar, going through a nasty bout of menopause and has access to the shotgun.
Forewarned you overlords of metal.
Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.
I read that as "Skin your balls quickly with pool-cue robots." I quickly became concerned until my brain pointed out the pool-cue part of the title.
As a roboticist, I think this is the coolest thing since rocket skates. I can't wait for this to be commercialised.
Scientists point out problems, engineers fix them
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I thought sinking balls quickly was what you _weren't_ supposed to do...
"Reality continues to ruin my life" - Calvin and Hobbes
I can't be the only one who first saw, "Suck", in that title?
I really don't see any value in this. Pool is a game of finesse, strategy, and ability, not brute forcing balls with robots. I don't know why you'd base it on a billiard/pool table and not something that was purpose built.
By using robots in this way you're removing what's fun about pool.
While his foosball table was cool, this is quite silly IMO.
never be the same again.
The Navy Motto "IF it ain't broke Fix It" "A day is wasted if you don't learn something new"
Is this related to the "Tea Bagging" parties that Americans seem to be having to protest taxes?
Its awesome
Are you telling me that they plan on sinking balls for the next eight years?
Bring me an asian chick and I will definitely sink my balls...
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What?! Sink my balls! Robots that use pool cues to sink my balls? In what!
Remote controlled devices are now robots? Just because robot wars uses RC controlled monsters and calls them robots?
For me a robot is something where at least some intelligence is done automatically.
I can't see any robotic thing in these toys.
So yes, the military and police bomb brobots are no robots, still just remote controlled machines.
If I remote control an excavator it does not suddenly become a robot.
Atari rules... ermm... ruled.
In order to keep tight reins on the mechatronic ball handlers' movements
The only robot I want playing with my balls is portrayed by Summer Glau. But I'll settle for the actual Summer Glau.
My senior project for my BSEE was to make an actual robot that did this same thing. Each team's robot competed against each other to identify it's own balls and sink them before the other one could. Wish I had the video on youtube or something so you could all see the surprisingly boring competition.
well...er... c'mon /.
LOLZ this is just too easy.
"Computers are a lot like Air Conditioners" "They both work great until you start opening Windows"
Pool is a game of finesse, strategy, and ability, not brute forcing balls with robots
No, it is about 'Market Share' and 'How many eyeballs we can saturate'
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Down With Slashdot BETA!!! I've been around the corner and seen the oliphant; you can only abuse me from your perspecti
Hee hee balls is another word for testicles!
... I don't think there's going to be a single serious comment in this thread.
Queen's also has a pool playing robot. It uses a traditional cue. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1TiO5lgN7o
I just assumed it had something to do with the teabag protest last week.
...sink my balls into a robot! Wake me up when there's a Cherry 2000 I can nail.
I swear to God...I swear to God! That is NOT how you treat your human!
, I wish /. had a digg-like "lame" moderation category.
"National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
THATS WHAT SHE SAID but she didn't say it with caps lock
THATS WHAT SHE SAID but she didn't say it with caps lock
THATS WHAT SHE SAID but she didn't say it with caps lock
or did she?
PLEASE don't let it be this one!
When I first saw this thread, I was reminded of an arcade robot game that a few friends of mine designed and put out onto the market...and before anyone says anything, yes I know the dates are a little old on the site, but I know that they're still working on it...being a small player in the arcade gaming business makes it hard to really get started...
Robotic Amusements - Creators of Robo-Basho
This looks just like the kind of thing they do at those FIRST robotics competitions. So now you know what all the high-school robotics nerds will be doing when they graduate - they'll be hustling robotic pool with their finely-honed skills :-)
I personally, want to see little robots with saws and flamethrowers. Although that might be a bit hard on the felt...
I don't need something that will play the game for me. What fun is that?
No, what I really need is something that will help me rack my balls quickly.
When I read the summary I was expecting some clever system that went around the perimeter of the table and pushed a robotic-controlled cue stick of some sorts. Instead we get what look to be small RC cars with special front ends. This is closer to soccer than it is to pool.
Now if instead something was built that did go around the perimeter of the table, and shoot in a more-or-less human fashion, that would be intriguing as it would actually be something that a human could play pool against. This is more of a gee-whiz (pool) parlor trick, IMHO.
Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
"member enlargement" and how ridiculous they sound?
This entire thread sounds like that.
(This is an observation, not a criticism.)
...I would have rather balled Liz Taylor..err. a real long time ago now....
In the future, just as we have various chess simulators now, we'll have some kind of pool-stick playing bot to match our own pool-playing skillz against, mano a mano.
Let this initial implementation serve as prior art.
You can't be ahead of the curve, if you're stuck in a loop.
Cue sticks? I've never heard this phrase used before, is it some kind of Canadianism? Perhaps over there they dig holes with shovel tools and eat bacon with fork utensils, eh.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOOw2yWMSfk