present
PINBALL FOOSBALL
Our project PINBALL FOOSBALL was designed for people like you with the idea of assisting you in defending your vulnerable goal.
How?
With the use of our intelligent goalie!
He is able to detect and determine how the ball is approaching the goal and then moves to block the oncoming ball. For the purpose of building a fun project we transformed this simple idea into a lively game of chance and skill. Our hybrid foosball game includes an autonomous goalie as well as a set of pinball-style bumpers that randomly rise up from the table. On the table, we have positioned four laser/detector pairs that provide information on the position and speed of the ball. With this information the Handy Board drives the goalie into position in order to intercept the ball.
The ball is delivered at a relatively low speed by a user-controlled ramp which allows for the ball to approach the goal from a variety of angles while limiting the velocity and preventing undesirable complexities, such as backspin, in the ball's behavior. This allows us to limit the degree to which the system depended on a very quick response of software and actuators.
Our goalie is confined to translation motion along a single axis and does not return the ball. An additional element of challenge is provided by bumpers that randomly rise up from the table surface.