If you ’ve drop any clock time at a New arcade you ’ve probably seen air hockey tables upgrade with glowing pucks and paddles that make the game more visually appealing . Researchers fromTohoku University in Japanhave taken those acclivity one step further in a version of air hockey game that put back the pucks and paddles withshape - interchange virtual projectionsthat increase the challenge .
It ’s an idea we ’ve seen with billiards table as well , where aprojection system mounted above the tablecreates animations and effect in response to the campaign of the ball , and in some cases , provides visual aiming cues for musician setting up their next dig . But to date , these upgrades have all been reactionary and merely enhance a secret plan of syndicate by tracking the movements of traditional cue sticks and billiard ball . What the researchers fromTohoku University ’s Intelligent Control Systems Laboratoryhave make is a mod braid where the projection organisation completely replaces the physical parts of melodic line ice hockey .
A semi - gauze-like and rigid rear jut projection screen replaces the traditional air hockey board surface that ’s normally perforated with holes to let air through . Being semi - vaporous not only allows projections on the undersurface of the table to show through ( a skillful glide slope than projections from above that can be blot out by the player ) but it also allows a tv camera underneath to track the motion of the thespian ’s paddle , which have a hopeful infrared light-emitting diode so that its orientation can be easily seen and tracked , even in low - visible light conditions .
Gif:YouTube - Shingo Kagami
The habit of a projector and a video recording camera is n’t the notable innovation here that makesMetamorHockeyappear so highly interactive and exact . What makes these climb work so well is that the projector and video television camera both work out at an astonishing 420 frame per secondly . So during every second of gameplay , the video camera is detecting the post and orientation of the role player ’s boat paddle 420 time , run that information to a computer that calculates the motion and trajectory of the practical puck , and then it passes that data to a projector that refreshen the situation of the practical puck and totter the same number of times each second .
Even a projector course at 60 frame per secondly would make the player ’s paddle seem to lag behind the high - speed movement of the grip they ’re hold as they play , which would make the virtual air travel ice hockey experience feel less bona fide and less gratifying . The highly high frame rate of the custom low - response time DMD ( digital micromirror gadget ) projector used here is fast enough to fool a musician ’s heart into believing the virtual paddle is shut away to their movements , which sells the consequence .
Does atmosphere hockey need an rise ? Probably not , but MetamorHockey ’s virtual Robin Goodfellow will never fly off the table like the material ones have a inclination to do , which is for certain one advantage . And being capable to exchange the size and shape of both the hockey puck and paddle on the fly does enter some interesting slipway to change the fashion air hockey is played . unpredictable shapes make it harder to dependably predict which direction the puck is going to travel , increasing the challenge , while increasing the size of it of the paddle could make it easy for less experienced player to really enjoy act against someone who ’s more skilled at the game .
Screenshot:YouTube – Shingo Kagami
There ’s no Word of God on when MetamorHockey might show up at your local arcade , butmore details will be revealedwhen its creators exhibit their inquiry at the approaching Siggraph 2021 conference in August .
HockeySports
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Gif:YouTube – Shingo Kagami
