Can a Robot Beat a Human Player?

All this fantasizing gave me an idea for a sci-fi drama movie.

Year is 2030
Professional pool is now dominated by Robots representing mega-corporations from around the world. It's been 10 years since humans could compete against the robots.

The human tour is waning in popularity, but there is new hope. A young group of human superstars has arisen from the dark underground. They are the lost children of Drivermaker, that have been hiding away perfecting their aiming systems under the tutilage of a bitter and twisted, though brilliant Drivermaker who is out to get revenge on the Post Hole Diggers that created this new breed of Super Pool Robots.

The new players pool their life savings to challenge the best robots in the world. It is their last hope of reviving the human pool tour.

The story writes itself from here. Of course the DM clones win in the finale and DM lives happily ever after ruling over his own popular pool forum.
 
Simplicity

Pool is such a simple game to play..point a to point b should lead to point c..But as we all know a computer will calculate many more meaningless possibilites..Would pay just to watch the darn thing have a melt down..Don
 
And the robots become equipment whores and post incessantly about Predators and jump cues? :p
 
Colin Colenso said:
The problem with virtual pool is that it doesn't use the exact correct physics such as varying throw with speed and amount of side, cushion reflection angles, swerve etc. It knows it's own formulas and so can make perfect predictions.

That said, a very accurate robot could experiment with all these shots and accurate formulas could be developed.

The process of developing these formulas would produce insights that would keep us physics junkies entertained for endless hours and provide us with an encyclopedia of data to present to annoy and confuse the general pool playing population.

It could play near flawless jump shots, masses and rail kicks if it analyzed the properties of the table beforehand.

Such a robot may be more popular to watch than those Japanese walking robots which develop many millions worth of PR like ASIMO does for Honda.
c041215_7_l.jpg

A robot like that playing pool could generate millions in PR through TV news, TV documentaries and public appearances. It would be worth some investment.
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The reason computer chess is so popular is because it gives you an opponent and you can adjust the strength of the computer to match your own ability. If someone could develop a robot to play pool at a reasonable cost it would indeed be popular, but I suspect the cost would be prohibitive. Imagine being able to go into your basement, turn on R2D2, and have a competitive game of pool anytime you wanted.

If you can develop one, I'll give you $500 for it.
 
alstl said:
The reason computer chess is so popular is because it gives you an opponent and you can adjust the strength of the computer to match your own ability. If someone could develop a robot to play pool at a reasonable cost it would indeed be popular, but I suspect the cost would be prohibitive. Imagine being able to go into your basement, turn on R2D2, and have a competitive game of pool anytime you wanted.

If you can develop one, I'll give you $500 for it.
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You don't need a robot for that, just develope a multiple personality disorder, and play yourself! I do that practicing, I play one side real defensive/calculating, and the other side firing at everything. So far, the defensive me is getting crushed.....Gerry, and other Gerry.
 
Is this ...

The Pool version of the song "In the year 2525"? .... lol

This subject, although rather fascinating to talk about, will never
happen like you propose it to. Even if Robots are developed,they
will be dping more productive things than just to play Pool.

So it's all academic, and I will bet everything I have that it will never
come to be with the Robot winning.

We have enough problems today in playing Pool than to worry about
some robot beating us ... lol
 
ill put 10vcash on the computer.

ok there are so many factors that influence... but do humans use it? i dont see anyone checking the weight of the balls, the humidity of the air, the resistence of the cloth, the exact amount of squirt, deflection etc.. but we still think we are superior. if we dont calculate it, robots dont have to either.

I like the idea of changing the strategy into a virtual pool bases thing, and then retransforme the strategy into a mechanical movement. special pooltable, special balls.. mm i think robots will win.

Self learning computers will even be better i think. but even basic robots will have a chance. for them a 3" distance pot would be the exact same as full table lenght pot. no stress factor,

if humans want to have a chance, there gameplay would change alot. safety play will be the way to go. and i wouldnt spread the balls at the beginning of a 8ball game.

i was really impressed by that video of that basic robot arm. dont think it will take to much time before they own us.

conclusion: a robot is "in the zone" 24/24 7/7. MAJOUR advantage
 
Solartje said:
conclusion: a robot is "in the zone" 24/24 7/7. MAJOR advantage
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Yes, that is why I'll go on the road with a robot partner.

We'll do all the old hussles like the two men and a strange robot.

My road partner!
 

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LOOL collin! not again on the 6pack?! That looks like one EVIL partner u got there :) Does he pay 50% of the money u lose with the hustling too?

off to bed... looking forward for your next ... *scared to post the word i had in mind*... new :p post

greats, solly
 
Colin, would the robot sit still when it's my turn? Also, if I fix the rack, will the robot notice? Better yet, has the robot read Joe Tucker's Racking Secrets?
 
I think it is possible, and in a shorter period of time than most people think. A pool paying machine does not have to have a humanoid form, like the asimo. it can just be a platform on wheels with gears and air driven pistons to control the cue angle and speed like the one in the video. like colin has already said, the software is already there. most of the virtual players are unbeatable. what remains is a way to interface the vitual into the real world.
before a game with a human, the robot would just have to hit a few test shots to calibrate itself to the playing surface, the elasticity of the rails, the speed of the cloth, the weight of the balls, etc. optic sensors would measure the table and track the velocity of the balls. All of which can be easily and accurately done by a machine. the only obstacle is in safety play, although given enough time, this can be programmed into the machine also. with winner's breaks, the robot would have a better chance than with alternate breaks. also, if they use the zardo racks the robot's chances are increased further because it takes much of the randomness of the game away.
a bowling playing robot would be much easier to create because there isn't much randomness in bowling. in fact, consistency is key to this game. and a robot does not suffer from fatigue or muscle memory loss. same with golf. a golf swing machined already can calibrate itself to changing conditions. this, together with accurate mapping of the golf course (like the one used in Links), would translate to a great golf-playing robot.
 
Colin Colenso said:
Yes, that is why I'll go on the road with a robot partner.

We'll do all the old hussles like the two men and a strange robot.

My road partner!
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I bet Bender would be great at masse shots.
 
sjm said:
Colin, would the robot sit still when it's my turn? Also, if I fix the rack, will the robot notice? Better yet, has the robot read Joe Tucker's Racking Secrets?
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The robot will have extensive files on rack mechanics and advanced psychologic ploys.

For example, it will shake its head and look to the roof after a safety and say stuff like, how easy it that to the opponent, or this is the worst table I've ever played on.

Then it will walk across the player's line of site, chalk its cue to make it squeek, make quips about the opponent's failures in past matches, banter with the audience and do the now infamous Earl slouch and look away in its chair.

When the opponent misses it will laugh using various evil laugh sound tracks, monitoring all the time which particular methods most raise the opponent's adrenaline concentrations by checking the dilatiion of his pupils. :p
 
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