Tag Archives: air hockey

LEGO and Air Hockey Combine in This DIY Brick-Based Mini Table

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Although there’s no air involved in this particular build, the LEGO Ideas Tabletop Air Hockey kit captures the joy of slinging a puck around from left to right, trying to score a goal while protecting your own post. Submitted to the LEGO Ideas forum, this fan-made build from ‘LordFamousTulip100’ sits on the global LEGO forum with nearly a 1000 votes.

Designer: LordFamousTulip100

With a highly sturdy reliable construction that can easily handle the occasional violence of Air Hockey, LordFamousTulip100’s build comprises a staggering 2,500 bricks. The playing surface is smooth, has all the markings, and is spacious enough to accommodate two players comfortably. It’s still compact enough that the entire apparatus can sit on a coffee table, occupying perhaps the same amount of space as a large board game.

“The model features two brick build mallets and two pucks, which the goal can comfortably fit and store when you are not playing,” says designer LordFamousTulip100. “The playing surface is made with the largest pieces possible to ensure a smooth game.”

The board also features a goal counter to keep score, and has exposed dotted bricks on either side that you can plug your mallets/strikers into when not in use. The lack of air-based lubrication may be the one thing really missing from this game, but it makes up for it with the ability to be customized/modified thanks to the open-source LEGO-based design!

The post LEGO and Air Hockey Combine in This DIY Brick-Based Mini Table first appeared on Yanko Design.

Pinball + Air Hockey + Wall Climbing = Climball

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Augmented reality is the current hot trend in gaming, largely due to the success of Pokémon GO. Here’s another interesting game that uses augmented reality in a different way. It combines pinball with air hockey and wall climbing. It is called Climball and it looks like a lot of fun.

augmented_reality_wall_1
Augmented Climbing, a Finland-based company, has a great new way to get in shape. Climball projects a ball on a climbing wall which is divided into two sections. These two sections are the playing area for each player. The idea is to kick the virtual ball into the opponent’s court and avoid losing the ball in their own court. Think air hockey, or Pong on a vertical wall.

Since you have to hang onto a climbing wall while playing, this game has got to be more difficult than it looks, but it looks like a lot of fun.

[via TheNextWeb via DamnGeeky]

Ultimate Game Room Table Flips from Air Hockey to Billiards

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This rotating Air Hockey/Billiards table is perfect for any mancave since you get two games in one. It’s especially great if you are limited on space. This space saving solution is versatile and stylish, not to mention fun.

air hockey billiards table 1 620x409magnify

The air hockey side features a glossy white playing surface and a 110-volt blower with 3″ solid MDF rails and heavy-duty aprons. The 7′ billiards table is made from warp-resistant, high-density MDF and covered in a nylon blend cloth.

air hockey billiards table 3 620x467magnify

If you want to change the game, just rotate and lock into place. It comes with two 57″ cues, balls, rack, chalk, two air hockey strikers, and two pucks. It will cost you $799.95(USD) over at Hammacher Schlemmer, so you are talking about just $400 per side. Not bad when you consider the convenience and the cool factor.

air hockey billiards table 2 620x467magnify

[via This Is Why I'm Broke]

3D Printer Turned into Air Hockey Robot: It Prints, It Scores!

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A few years ago we found out about mighty Roombas that were moonlighting as sumo wrestlers. Jose Julio’s RepRap 3D printer also has a sporting spirit. The robotics enthusiast unlocked his gadget’s potential and turned it into an air hockey player.

reprap 3d printer air hockey robot by jose juliomagnify

The robot has three motors: two for moving its mallet across the y-axis and one for movement along the x-axis. Jose Julio wrote the drivers for the motors in Arduino. He then color-coded the mallet and the puck, installed a PlayStation Eye camera and wrote a program in C to make his robot see. Finally he wrote another Arduino program that predicts where the puck will go so that its motors can react appropriately.

Another neat thing about Jose Julio’s setup is that the table uses two old PC fans to create a cushion for the puck to slide on.

Jose Julio knows that his robot still needs a lot of practice – and programming – before it’s ready for primetime. For instance, it doesn’t know where the goal is, though as you saw in the video it can already score even with that handicap. But Jose Julio says he can easily imagine RepRap enthusiasts making air hockey robots of their own, improving and refining its programming so that robots could have different difficulty levels and even different strategies.

Insert a token in your browser and head to Jose Julio’s blog for more on his project.

[via The Next Web]

Three Way Air Hockey

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three way air hockey Three Way Air Hockey
It’s a hat trick! Triple your pleasure, triple your fun with this Tri-Hockey Table. This game takes air hockey to the next level- a three way. Will you shoot the puck to the left or the right? The triangular shape makes for unusual caroms and ricochets as the puck glides along quickly on a blanket of air. Make room in the mancave my friends.

The only problem with this game is that you will need 2 friends to play with- maybe not a problem for you, but for me it is. I guess it doesn’t matter since I usually just end up scoring on myself anyway (I’m still talking about air hockey here- I think). I’m like the Gretsky of air hockey- Paulina that is. Thank you, goodnight.

Three Way Air Hockey

Air Hockey Playing Robot Is Impossible To Beat

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air-hockey-robot

If you thought that all those hours spent at the arcade, perfecting your air hockey-playing skills were worth it because they’d made you unbeatable, know that it was all in vain. A soulless robot created by researchers at Chiba University’s Namiki Lab could prbably hand you your ass in a platter. The system captures your movements and that of the puck at 500fps, and anticipates your shots. This means that pretty much no matter what you do, the robot will have you beat. But this bot goes one level above simply having quicker reflexes than you. To keep you interested and playing (as opposed to giving up in frustration within a minute), it’ll make you believe you could have a chance, stringing you along for a while, learning your moves before mowing you down like last week’s lawn. This robot isn’t only fast, it’s a hustler.

[ Research Paper ] VIA [ DamnGeeky ]

This Robot Will Beat You at Air Hockey

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If you fancy yourself a good air hockey player, this robot may have a thing or two to teach you. It comes from Japanese researchers at Chiba University’s Namiki Lab. It is pretty good at competing against human players because the robot changes its strategy based on its human opponent’s playing style. Think you have what it takes to win?

air hockey

The system is comprised of an air-hockey table, a four-axis robotic arm, two high-speed cameras, and an external PC. The robot tracks the movement of your puck and paddle, using position data from the camera images that are processed by the PC, and uses that data to figure out how to react.

You may think you are fast, but the robot is faster, tracking the game at 500 frames-per-second. This ‘bot already knows its next move when you are reacting to that last shot. It already knows your next move as it counters your last hit. It can’t be stopped. It can’t be reasoned with… Sorry. The point is that you aren’t fast from the robot’s point of view. It is playing in a kind of Matrix-style bullet-time, because it is so much faster than you.

To make it more fair for those who play this robot, researchers programmed the robot with a three-layer control system. The first layer is responsible for basic motion control of hardware. A second layer decides its short-term strategy. Things like whether it should hit the puck, defend the goal, or stay still. The third layer is all about long-term strategy and throwing it’s superiority in your face. If you are playing aggressively, it will too. If you are defensive, it will become defensive. How can you win? Well, you can kill it at least. It’ll never see that sledgehammer coming.

[via IEEE Spectrum via Botropolis]

Super Mario Bros. Koopa Troopa Shell Air Hockey Puck

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koopa troopa shell Super Mario Bros. Koopa Troopa Shell Air Hockey Puck
Air hockey just got way more fun (and geekier) with the Super Mario Bros. Koopa Troopa Shell Air Hockey Puck. Flip it over, pop in a few batteries and it glides along ANY smooth surface- it provides it’s own little air cushion- 2 minutes of play every time you push down on the shell. Play turtle shell air hockey anywhere, although probably better played someplace with a rail or something to keep Koopa from flying off the table. Comes with a pair of “pushers” too (actually called “mallets”, yeah I just looked that up). Imported from Japan (if you couldn’t tell by the writing).

Super Mario Bros. Koopa Troopa Shell Air Hockey Puck

iPad Air Hockey with Capacitive Strikers

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ipod air hockey iPad Air Hockey with Capacitive Strikers
Turn your iPad into an air hockey set with the iPieces iPad Air Hockey set iPad Air Hockey with Capacitive Strikers. The set comes with a pair of capacitive strikers and a free download of the iPiece Air Hockey app. You and a buddy each place the strikers on top of the iPad and you can play air hockey just like a regular air hockey table but smaller and digital. Does this make it the world’s first travel air hockey table? Sort of. Either way, prepare for some fun knuckle bruising action.

buy now iPad Air Hockey with Capacitive Strikers

iPad Air Hockey with Capacitive Strikers