That is very impressive! i like the precision and the angular calculations. It even projects a laser line on the table to assist a human player make the shot, very nice!
The ball racking is not pre-programmed. The system detects every ball on the table and its colour. So it can set up the triangle exactly how you want it every time.
it needs a wider variation to compensate for the natural motion of the human hand. it takes it way too sensitive and thats why its bouncing around. it should be an easy fix or add a larger icon to the cue and that should compensate for it as well.
@Jimi4endrix Yeah. If you look really closely, you'll notice that all the pool balls are just made up of smaller pool balls, which are made up of smaller pool balls, ad infinitum. Pretty neat, actually.
The racking was impressive - no visible gaps between the balls. Not sure what the 11 ball was doing in a 9-ball rack though... did the 2 ball get blown up in some freak lab accident?
if i had a hat on at this moment, i would be taking it off for you impressive and further evidence that technology is moving at such an alarmingly fast pace compared to technological advances made between 1900 and 1999 and advances in the last 10 years alone. thinking about where we will be in 3-5 years is quite scary
For the augmented reality (Cool name BTW), you should try to make it so people who have some kind of special glasses could see the projection. That would be cool
Was the ball racking pre-programmed in?, Or Does the robot look for objects within the pool table area? In which case, are robots colour blind, If you had a camera, would it know the difference between red/yellow balls. It could be used to set up a game of English Pool, and everything could be position properly i the triangle too
I really curious to know more about 'Deep Green', and in particular if the project included an AI for playing a 'perfect' game of pool (depending on the game). Can Deep Green set up shots in a game of pool? Track/distinguish which balls belong to itself and map out several shots in advance? I'm sure there's probably even more one might be able to do with this (colored lines in ARPool for multi-ball prediction etc)
@loneforce I don't really think that's the point.. It's not a game, it's a tool. You don't purposefully put irregularities in a ruler to make it more challenging to use.
@ChrisG4620 I believe, by using basic image processing algorithms and high precision stepper/servo motors, one can achieve everything ... right from identifying the ball by its color to stacking them. To answer your question, the ball racking doesn't need to be pre-programmed as the camera+robot can identify the arrangement in real time and stack other balls in order to create the triangle. I'd like to know how the augmented reality part was achieved.. looks awesome :)
@kennith702 the thing i don't like about this is that if your rails are terrible it won't know (atleast i don't think it would) so it only gives you the trail if you have awesome rails...nice that it plots it pretty far down the table tho
Augmented reality means computer enhanced reality - you see the real picture but computer adds some additional informations for you. For example in nature it can be compass, altitude, basic directions, tracking informations, etc. When you tour a museum it can give you info about different exhibits by just looking at them - you don't have to look for the name, it will just appear lets say as a hint floating above the object. The object is real, the hint is not hence augmented reality.
All good to be able to teach a beginner how the mechanics of the game work, however, no machine can teach you match play experience, ball selection and deeper than that cluster/trouble balls not to mention the mental side of the game....love technology don't get me wrong though pool/billiard sports is a game learned over many years of hard work and practice.
Make the lights infrared or ultraviolet, then build a contact lens that converts those wavelengths into visible light so no one else can see you're cheating. Watch the entire professional sports of snooker and pool collapse.
Before you deride this work, realize first what the point is. The act of playing pool here is just a problem in abstract whose components are identical to more pressing problems in engineering and computer science. In solving this problem researchers develop a set of tools which can then be applied in other areas. Unless you are involved in it, it is rare for a person to appreciate the complexity of the every day things they take for granted. Someone had to design it and build it for you.
I think man can beat it. From looks of it (especially the augmented reality) it doesn't use different striking techniques. Also every table is bit different and there is no mention of it's capability to learn and adapt. I don't play pool - three-cushion carom is my thing. And there are some trivial positions you just can't play without proper technique. And I imagine that pool also has those. IMHO: Might be good for beginners but real pro would smash that thing.
