So I just read that some guy perfected a robot to debone chickens. No easy task when you think about it. I’ve been wondering if you could make a robot that could shoot pool, and if so, how good would it be?
I think from a simple practicality standpoint (if money is not an issue), it’s not that hard to create the mechanism that holds the cue, it could be suspended like those sports cameras and traverse the entire table. The optics to create a representation of the balls and their position on the table seems pretty straight forward with today’s technology as well. The physics of balls on a table is pretty easy to simulate. So you could figure pretty well where to hit the cue ball (English) and the force to apply. There would be some variables with the table setup that would need to be calibrated (cloth condition and play, rail action, etc.). Then there is that ephemeral notion of strategy. The robot would probably not be a perfect shot either given the minor variations of the equipment, the table, etc. I suppose in some way you would want to program in algorithms to deal with percentages, shot selection, etc.
So for all you engineering wonks out there, what says you. Can it be done with today’s technology? Could it ever be done?
I think from a simple practicality standpoint (if money is not an issue), it’s not that hard to create the mechanism that holds the cue, it could be suspended like those sports cameras and traverse the entire table. The optics to create a representation of the balls and their position on the table seems pretty straight forward with today’s technology as well. The physics of balls on a table is pretty easy to simulate. So you could figure pretty well where to hit the cue ball (English) and the force to apply. There would be some variables with the table setup that would need to be calibrated (cloth condition and play, rail action, etc.). Then there is that ephemeral notion of strategy. The robot would probably not be a perfect shot either given the minor variations of the equipment, the table, etc. I suppose in some way you would want to program in algorithms to deal with percentages, shot selection, etc.
So for all you engineering wonks out there, what says you. Can it be done with today’s technology? Could it ever be done?