Play Angry Birds With a USB Slingshot

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Play Angry Birds With a USB Slingshot

Posted by samzenpus on Tuesday February 28, 2012 @04:53AM from the because-you-can dept.

An anonymous reader writes "If you're sick of playing Angry Birds, or don't like touchscreen controls, there is now an alternative if you don't mind some construction. mbed have posted full instructions and a parts list for creating your very own USB slingshot, adding a physical element to playing the game. You need a decent branch for the slingshot, a microcontroller, USB connector, accelerometer, and a rubber stretch sensor. The C++ code is provided, and as a weekend project I can see this being pretty satisfying to create."

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Why are Angry Birds Angry? by Nyder · 2012-02-28 04:59 · Score: 4, Funny

Is it because their sounds are copyrighted?

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1. Re:Why are Angry Birds Angry? by WrongSizeGlass · 2012-02-28 05:01 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  I think you forgot the link
What a bummer! by macraig · 2012-02-28 05:09 · Score: 4, Funny

"Ammunition sold separately. For ages 21 and up. Proof of basement address required."
Just perfect! Except... by irussel · 2012-02-28 05:10 · Score: 4, Funny

Thats awesome! However, what do they suggest to do about the expired birds now embedded in my monitor?
Kinect? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-28 05:11 · Score: 2, Insightful

Wouldn't Kinect make this much easier implement and wireless?
1. Re:Kinect? by shippers · 2012-02-28 06:42 · Score: 2
  
  Wouldn't Kinect make this much easier implement and wireless?
  I wouldn't have though so. The mbed has direct access to the sensors picking up the kind of information it's interested in, tilt angle, strength of pull, and the like. I could imagine there being a fairly fine degree of control over the thing. Kinect is great for full body movements, but might struggle to pick up the finer points of a slingshot aim.
2. Re:Kinect? by justforgetme · 2012-02-28 19:29 · Score: 1
  
  Yep, Kinect is useless for small measuerments (eg: the amount of stretch in the sling or its pitch).
  Also this implementation you can use in your cubicle while goofing off, while Kinect needs an empty
  hangar in order to operate correctly...
  
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God damn it by DC2088 · 2012-02-28 05:12 · Score: 1

Enough already.
Re:Just perfect! Except... by tlhIngan · 2012-02-28 05:14 · Score: 2

Thats awesome! However, what do they suggest to do about the expired birds now embedded in my monitor?
Just wait a little bit, they'll go "poof" and disappear, taking care of the problem.
there's already a physical boardgame by iamhassi · 2012-02-28 05:18 · Score: 2

If you need "a physical element to playing the game" there's already a physical board game with birds and a catapult and plastic wood you make structures out of.

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1. Re:there's already a physical boardgame by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-28 06:19 · Score: 0
  
  This one is much better.
Because there arn't enough ways yet by Oswald+McWeany · 2012-02-28 05:18 · Score: 1

Because there arn't enough ways yet...
It's even on the Roku for cheeses sake! What next- underware equipped with the ability to play angry birds?!?!?!

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1. Re:Because there arn't enough ways yet by pr0fessor · 2012-02-28 05:52 · Score: 1
  
  oh wow!... Wives/Girlfriends that feel like their significant other does not give them attention because of video games might actually bye those and regret it after about 4 hours.
Why not real? by bobcat7677 · 2012-02-28 05:18 · Score: 1

OK, I will admit this is kind of cool. But why not use real birds? Seems like it would be much easier then cobbling together all that hardware and software! By nature of what you are doing to them, I have no doubt they would be automatically angry. Setting up stuff for them to knock over would be the hardest part I think...
1. Re:Why not real? by Samantha+Wright · 2012-02-28 05:48 · Score: 1
  
  Presumably the trouble arises when you need to hire someone to keep score for you.
  
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2. Re:Why not real? by bobcat7677 · 2012-02-29 04:34 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah, would probably need a whole panel of judges to be fair.
Really? by tobiasly · 2012-02-28 05:19 · Score: 1

FFS, Angry Birds is still a thing?
1. Re:Really? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-28 05:40 · Score: 0
  
  Yeah. Google is still a popular search engine too, unless you hadn't heard that, either.
2. Re:Really? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-28 05:53 · Score: 0
  
  FFS, Angry Birds is still a thing?
  FFS, jackasses saying "Really?" is still a thing?
3. Re:Really? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-28 07:34 · Score: 0
  
  FFS, people still use the FFS acronym?
  In a serious note, there are people who still didn't get sick of Mario and Pokemon games, this is hardly a surprise.
Re:Just perfect! Except... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-28 05:46 · Score: 0

You're not supposed to use real birds? Oh. Crap.
Robins look just like the regular ones though... :/
You're not "creating" by Gothmolly · 2012-02-28 05:50 · Score: 1

Someone already did that, you're just following directions. It's the difference between an "engineer" and a "technician".

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murder me by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-28 05:54 · Score: 0

I wish somebody would use a slingshot to murder me. I'm so sick of this Angry Birds fucking garbage bullshit.
1. Re:murder me by MobileTatsu-NJG · 2012-02-28 07:34 · Score: 1
  
  Wow, your life must be a living hell.
  
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2. Re:murder me by tehcyder · 2012-02-29 03:07 · Score: 1
  
  Life's just so unfair sometimes, it makes you want to weep while you unleash weapons of mass destruction on an uncaring world.
  
  In other words, his mum just told him to tidy up his room.
  
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  To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
And the sequel will be.. by Megahard · 2012-02-28 05:56 · Score: 1

Angry Neighbors

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Re:Just perfect! Except... by K.+S.+Kyosuke · 2012-02-28 06:46 · Score: 2

However, what do they suggest to do about the expired birds now embedded in my monitor?
Unfortunately, modern medicine has yet to find a cure for chronic lack of appreciation for modern art.

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Not interested unless... by maroberts · 2012-02-28 08:00 · Score: 1

..it makes it easier to get 3 stars on level 3-15.

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Wrong angle by RoccamOccam · 2012-02-28 08:45 · Score: 1

Very nice. However (there's always somebody that has to do this), he's measuring the wrong angle. The angle of the stick has rather little to do with the trajectory of the shot. He needs to measure the angle of the sling with respect to vertical (just like the game)
Not legal for use in NJ by operagost · 2012-02-28 10:54 · Score: 1

Congratulations, you now have a weapon that is considered dangerous by the government of New Jersey and illegal to possess. Slingshot, slungshot, what's the diff, right?

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1. Re:Not legal for use in NJ by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-28 11:41 · Score: 0
  
  Care to elaborate?
2. Re:Not legal for use in NJ by operagost · 2012-02-29 05:12 · Score: 1
  
  Slingshots are illegal to carry in NJ. Since even The Situation isn't dumb enough to actually consider something kids use to harass squirrels a menace, the guess is that this very old law actually refers to a slungshot, and some dummy just misspelled it. Regardless, no one ever tried to fix it and to this day you can't buy a slingshot in NJ. I'm sure that police occasionally have used it as an excuse to ruin the life of some kid they were annoyed by and couldn't find a real crime to charge them with.
  
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And to complete the project by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-29 00:14 · Score: 0

maybe somebody could get the whole thing, including the Android and Angry Birds ports the the Raspberry Pi
Sweet! by deomo899 · 2012-02-29 10:44 · Score: 1

That's pretty awesome! I enjoyed playing this game on my boyfriend's Iphone a few times. To have a real slingshot to play the game really helps to engage the players.
thanks by jsfunstuff · 2012-03-10 13:41 · Score: 1

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