It prints, it scores!
Recently, Jose Julio re-purposed a 3D printer to play hockey, but not full-scale, body smashing ice-hockey, the more printer-friendly air hockey.
The robot has three motors, one for the x-axis and two for moving the mallet along the y-axis. Using a PlayStation Eye camera, Julio wrote code to 1) allow his robot to see, and 2) to predict where the puck is going to go so that the motors can act appropriately. Adding to this, the table uses two old PC fans to create a cushion for the puck to slide on.
However, the robot isn’t exactly perfect. It doesn’t know where the goals are. But that handicap still doesn’t keep it from scoring.
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