Comments on: Digitally assisted billiards

By: tablebilliard

tablebilliard — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 07:12:47 +0000

Well,Billiards is a fast growing leisure sport played on a billiard table, with a stick known as cue stick, usually 58 inches in length, and weighing 18 to 21 ounces. The cue stick is used to hit the balls, moving around the table.

By: Eight Ball Grifter

Eight Ball Grifter — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 13:28:22 +0000

Jeepers…how geeky.

Just play the bloody game guys!

By: Milton

Milton — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 06:02:22 +0000

If you need to purchase a bumper billiards table but aren’t sure where to get one, you can either search online or in a billiards supply store or other recreational outlet. They vary in price, and some companies may send you the bumper billiards table in pieces that you’ll need to assemble. If you don’t know quite what you want, try to look at some tables in a show room before you make a purchase. That way, if you purchase it online, you can know what to expect when the box arrives.

By: Pat

Pat — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 20:14:29 +0000

“but it might be possible to program this idea for straight shots.”

Even straight shots pick up spin (topspin, or follow, specifically) – that’s what rolling is. How hard you hit the ball (which you can’t predict) partially determines how much follow it picks up. And topspin changes the behavior of any impact that the ball has, *including* the impact angle.

So even a straight shot won’t be simple. I still think the best way would be to have a “weak, medium, and strong” predictions colored with, say, green, yellow, red. Then you have to take into account spin and friction, and you’d be able to make a decent guess.

I doubt the problem with the accuracy is the webcam – if you look at the video, you’ll note that the most accurate ones are the shallow-angle shots, which are the ones which depend least on spin.

By: Tucker

Tucker — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 17:37:44 +0000

some things i was thinking when i watched this, and might make it simpler and more effective:
1) get a higher res single shot camera, then attach a simple wireless switch to the stick at the base. line up the shot, hit the switch, and the camera takes a much better picture without as much noise ONCE instead of adjusting constantly.
2)multiple cameras for better 2-d accuracy, as they seemed to be off a bit.
3)i know it would require a lot more programming, but making an algorithm so the computer calculates the best single shot output (makes the ball go into the pocket) and setup for the next shot, and display the force require to do so as a color coded horizontal line just in front of the cue ball. (i hope that makes sense) – i know english is hard (or impossible) to program and predict, but it might be possible to program this idea for straight shots.

By: Morden

Morden — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 13:33:43 +0000

@Glen

Real time updates of the trajectory is cooler then static prediction though. Might as well go for the real thing eh?

By: Glen

Glen — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 10:33:01 +0000

The point of this is to provide a guide as to where the balls the balls will go before you take the shot. It can only do this based on your alignment with the cue ball it doesn’t know how hard you’re goinh to hit it, or where you’re going to hit it. So it has to assume no english (spin) on the ball and a fixed rate of acceleration.
All this talk of putting accelerometers in the cue and spotted cue balls to sense where the cue strikes and superfast computers to calculate the spin would only take effect WHEN the shot was actaully played, By then it’s too late ! the whole point of it is to predict what is going to happen beore you do it not AS you do it.

By: Grovenstien

Grovenstien — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 08:38:08 +0000

Does anyone else rember an episode of quantum leap that featured this very idea! Or has everyone elses minds been swiss cheesed by now!!!

By: morden

morden — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 04:00:20 +0000

@mark

Well ideally a system like this would be entirely independent of the pool game itself wouldn’t it? I thought of an accelerometer in the cueball itself but decided suggesting a modification to the cue is less intrusive.

By: effis

effis — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 00:30:19 +0000

soo cool!

By: mark

mark — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 23:01:08 +0000

how aboutu an accelerometer in each ball, so it can track proper movements, and then modify future predictions based on them

By: Cyrano

Cyrano — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 20:49:48 +0000

This is a great concept! The accuracy could probably get improved with a special cue, one that has an accelerometer in it or maybe ir lasers.

By: Caleb Kraft

Caleb Kraft — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 20:40:22 +0000

@alcoholic
it was a project for an embedded systems class.

By: Alcoholic

Alcoholic — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 20:13:00 +0000

This is cool, but slow… why program it on an embedded device? It seems like speed could have been vastly improved with a run of the mill laptop.

By: DarkFader

DarkFader — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 20:02:31 +0000

Next project idea:
Dynamic lighting and table tilting to throw off the opponent.
Or how about augmented reality pool balls.