Smart Cueball
- Thread starter nataddrho
- Start date
It's do-able but will be very costly.
Any cue ball will tell you if you hit the vertical centre.
Shoot the cue ball straight down the table.
If it comes back to your cue tip you hit through the vertical axis.
Always glad to be of assistance.
Video cameras and a mirror at the end of the table are helpful.
Another aid is Joe Tucker's third eye gizmo.
Once you have mastered the vertical centre hit, transfer it to actual competition - in snooker.
Pool players only spin the ball and claim snooker players never do.
:rotflmao1::rotflmao1::rotflmao1:
I already use a Smart cue ball, mine is even better. It's a Smart-Ass cueball that loves to find it's way inside a pocket from any angle, especially after I make a difficult shot and the cueball is coming into the side pocket at an angle that you'd never make an object ball in, yet it somehow stretches space/time to fit itself in. It also loves to go 2-4 rails and rebound off a few balls maybe into a pocket after a good hit is made on a kick, especially if the object ball is made on such a kick.
. Johnnyt
Any cue ball will tell you if you hit the vertical centre.
Shoot the cue ball straight down the table.
If it comes back to your cue tip you hit through the vertical axis.
Always glad to be of assistance.
Video cameras and a mirror at the end of the table are helpful.
Another aid is Joe Tucker's third eye gizmo.
Once you have mastered the vertical centre hit, transfer it to actual competition - in snooker.
Pool players only spin the ball and claim snooker players never do.
:rotflmao1::rotflmao1::rotflmao1:
Not quite true.
But a great drill if done correctly.
randyg
Not for nothing, but that wasn't the question.
And yes, there would absolutely be value.
The issue is this.....
99.999% of pool players don't even understand what a center ball hit is..
What are you saying is a center ball hit??
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The problem with the balls that mark up when you hit them, is the operator doesn't know how to actually place the ball correctly to begin with. This won't help you if you can't set it up.. Especially on longer shots with english.. You have to know where you will be hitting the CB to begin with to align it correctly.
Its a little misleading to say the least...
99.999% of pool players don't even understand what a center ball hit is..
What are you saying is a center ball hit??
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The problem with the balls that mark up when you hit them, is the operator doesn't know how to actually place the ball correctly to begin with. This won't help you if you can't set it up.. Especially on longer shots with english.. You have to know where you will be hitting the CB to begin with to align it correctly.
Its a little misleading to say the least...
Yes I am. I think I can restore the mass and moment of inertia properly with epoxy or phenolic potting.
I am thinking, that the times in which players wonder if they accidentally applied spin, are the times that they aren't really thinking about it? They miss a shot, and wonder to themselves if they should blame their aim or their stroke. Maybe they're not putting the tip where they think they are.
I am envisioning a cue ball that transmits the cue ball's spin information milliseconds after you stroke. It looks just like a normal white cue ball, but has tiny electronics inside that give you the answer. Then, if you have a questionable shot, and if you're the type of player that suspects his tip placement, you can check it against a real measured result.
But... If you're the type of player who approaches pool organically and is planning on HAMBing your way forwards, then training products are generally not in your interest.
Vertical axis.
You won't ever need to align or touch the cue ball. It will know its orientation due to the electronics inside.
One big problem pool will always face when it comes to innovation is the lack of a market. Yes, there are probably people out there that would enjoy your product but I worry there may not be enough interest to make it worth your while. If you could figure out a way to get digital feedback from a billiard ball without losing any of its integrity, there's certainly many different usages the game can benefit from but how much will it cost? How many would be interested in the mark-up from a standard billiard ball? How much is the information worth?
A few years ago, I saw an ad for a laser setup for a pool table. This setup could do a number of things like project the needed path for bank shots or fun light shows. The guy was selling it for $300k. Was it useful? Sure, but who's going to pay for something like that? And that's just an extreme example. There are plenty of other ideas out there that are great but fail to meet an acceptable price.
So, you want to make a better cue ball? You'll probably have to figure out a way to do it for less than $100 and the feedback will need to be more significant than just whether or not you hit it center. Like, how about the opposite? How about how many spins per second?
A few years ago, I saw an ad for a laser setup for a pool table. This setup could do a number of things like project the needed path for bank shots or fun light shows. The guy was selling it for $300k. Was it useful? Sure, but who's going to pay for something like that? And that's just an extreme example. There are plenty of other ideas out there that are great but fail to meet an acceptable price.
So, you want to make a better cue ball? You'll probably have to figure out a way to do it for less than $100 and the feedback will need to be more significant than just whether or not you hit it center. Like, how about the opposite? How about how many spins per second?
I'm your target market. I like technology, and I buy a bunch of the pool gizmos. That said, I think only telling you if you hit the vertical axis is of little use. The reason I say this, is I don't think an accurate center ball hit during practice translates to an off center hit during play. A lot of us are great at making the CB hit the tip on the kick test, but then during a real shot, especially with spin, the CB doesn't do what we intended because we mis-hit it.
I have the rempe ball and it's a pain in the ass to set up. But, it gives a lot of info.
If your CB could give feedback of exactly where it was hit, relative to the viewpoint of the shooter, and without complicated alignment procedures every shot, then that is something a pool nut like me would buy
I have the rempe ball and it's a pain in the ass to set up. But, it gives a lot of info.
If your CB could give feedback of exactly where it was hit, relative to the viewpoint of the shooter, and without complicated alignment procedures every shot, then that is something a pool nut like me would buy
All that said, go for your idea. I bet it would be fun to design. Nothing in pool is going to make anyone rich. So do it for the challenge. And who knows, maybe it will end up being a successful product.
The QMD Stroke Trainer (www.cue-md.com) shows you where you hit the cue ball along with a lot of other measurements about your stroke. But all the electronics you need to figure this stuff out (power source/regulation, radio transmitter, accel sensors, gyro sensors, mcu, etc.) would be tough to pack into a cue ball.
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I'm your target market. I like technology, and I buy a bunch of the pool gizmos. That said, I think only telling you if you hit the vertical axis is of little use. The reason I say this, is I don't think an accurate center ball hit during practice translates to an off center hit during play. A lot of us are great at making the CB hit the tip on the kick test, but then during a real shot, especially with spin, the CB doesn't do what we intended because we mis-hit it.
I have the rempe ball and it's a pain in the ass to set up. But, it gives a lot of info.
If your CB could give feedback of exactly where it was hit, relative to the viewpoint of the shooter, and without complicated alignment procedures every shot, then that is something a pool nut like me would buy
That's a good way to put it: I'm looking to make a self-aligning Rempe ball. If we go wireless it'll be just as easy to transmit "at least" the rotational axis vector to whatever receiver... Also, shouldn't be much harder to figure out the spin rate / speed, which will give you a polar coordinate on the face of the ball... i.e. yes, you'll get tip position.
There are many problems to face: battery life, charging, re-use, electronics packaging, weight distribution, balancing, and cost.
I can get cost under $100. As for everything else, I'll have to pick at it. I'll have to make this a side project in the interest of engineering rather than for profit. But its a fun challenge.
It'll be hard for sure, but possible!