Puzzle Pong Takes Beer Pong Into The Pool

puzzle-pong

Puzzle Pong is not the first floating beer pong setup, but the makers have thought long and hard about this and introduced some improvements over other such products already on the market. Puzzle Pong is modular and can be assembled into a 4, 6, or 8 foot long table with ease, and then folded back up into a 7 lbs. briefcase when you’re done. It’s made from polypropylene foam, which not only makes it float, but is also more durable than other floating materials. The recesses for the cups feature tiny holes that allow water to drain through and prevent splashing around from a stray shot. Of course, we’re not sure why you’d want to avoid getting splashed while standing in a pool, but there you have it.

If you want your own Puzzle Pong, head over to Kickstarter and pledge $50. Delivery is slated for November so you’ll likely miss the summer, unless you live in the kind of climate that’s summery all year long. And if that’s the case, we hate you.

[ Project Page ]

This Pool Table Is Bananas!

Actually, it’s one banana, but it’s still pretty crazy looking. The banana pool table was designed by Cléon Daniel. It features 4 pockets instead of the standard 6, and yellow felt instead of green because you know, otherwise it wouldn’t be ripe. The pool table took about a year to complete with the help of a retired carpenter and a woodgraining expert. That’s an entire year that could have been spent leisurely playing pool on a regular table while eating bananas, but luckily our man Cléon doesn’t monkey around when it comes to insane projects.

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OpenPool transforms billiards with a Kinect camera-controlled light show

Want to know how to make a pool table an attention-grabber on a showroom floor full of highly explosive video games? Try a couple of Kinect cameras, some projectors and a sound system. OpenPool's an open-source project that's looking to bring a little multimedia action to the world of billiards. The company had some reps on the floor of SXSW's Game Expo today, showing off the system, which, at the very least, is most probably unlike any pool game you've played.

The system uses two Kinect cameras to detect ball movement, which in turn directs the motion of the projectors -- not entirely unlike those floor shows in malls that seem to endlessly fascinate small children. The speakers play sound effects and music in sync with the movement as well, signaling noises when balls drop into the pockets. The company is really excited at the prospect of open-sourcing here, and told us you should probably be able to set up your own system at home for around $10,000, pool table included. For those who aren't particularly tech-savvy, the Japanese company is working on building full systems for offices and bars. Having Konami as a partner will certainly help it realize that dream. Check out a video of the table in action after the, you know, break.

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Inflatable Star Wars Pool Toys Perfect for Floating in the Dagobah Swamp

Summer is nearly over, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still hit the pool or swim in the ocean for the next few months. These Star Wars inflatable pool toys are inspiration enough for me to hop back in the waters, even with Fall approaching.

star wars pool toys

As you can see, the series includes awesome Millennium Falcon and X-Wing Fighter floating loungers, as well as the world’s best beachball – made to look like the Death Star. But I think the floating R2-D2 drink server is my favorite, as the little droid was built to serve after all. And if your favorite body of water happens to be a swamp, you can pretend to be on Dagobah.

Apparently, these things were made by Jakks Pacific a couple of years ago and distributed through Target stores in the US and Walmart stores in Canada. I never saw them in stores, and I’m not sure if they’re still making them, but you might want to keep an eye out on eBay for them to turn up there. In the mean time, I found a Jar Jar Binks inflatable pool if you’d like to fill it with water and then throw Jarts at Jar Jar’s face.

[via GeekTyrant]

 


Polaris’ pool-cleaning robots get updated with added intelligence, four-wheel drive

Polaris' pool-cleaning robots get updated with added intelligence, four-wheel drive

It's been almost exactly a year since Zodiac Pool Systems last expanded its line of Polaris-branded pool-cleaning robots, and it's now back with two more additions that fill out the top and bottom end of its lineup. That includes the company's most advanced robot to date, the $1499 Polaris 9400 Sport (pictured above), which adds four-wheel drive for the first time, as well as the company's new accelerometer-enhanced ActivMotion Sensor technology -- something Polaris says allows the robot to continually sense where it is in the pool and optimize its cleaning action accordingly. The 9100 Sport, on the other hand, gets neither of those new additions, but it'll "only" set you back $799, and will still clean pools up to 40 feet long in about two hours. You can get a closer look at those, as well as the company's existing offerings, at the source link below.

Continue reading Polaris' pool-cleaning robots get updated with added intelligence, four-wheel drive

Polaris' pool-cleaning robots get updated with added intelligence, four-wheel drive originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 21 Apr 2012 07:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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