Gizmodo: foosball

Robotic Foosball Table Can School Human Players

Sean Fallon — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 14:20:00 EDT

Every other week it seems that the bar for foosball tables gets set higher and higher. The new mark to beat comes to us from a group of engineering students from The University of Adelaide. As part of a final engineering project, the students utilized a 96-pinhole camera and LED sensor grid, custom-written software and a precision actuation system to create a table capable of beating the pants off of a human player. Seriously, if we put as much effort into other things as we do making cool foosball tables, we would probably have cured a few diseases by now. UPDATE: This is not the first autonomous foosball table ever built, but is definitely more streamlined than the Georgia Tech version. [Rockwell Automation via Born Rich]

Modular Ping Pong Table Allows For Crazy 12 Player Games

Sean Fallon — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 15:00:00 EDT

If you have ever watched a professional table tennis tournament (or Forrest Gump at least) you know that a two-person game can get completely insane. Now, imagine the mayhem that would ensue with up to 12 people battling it out at once. Thanks to designer Guenter Arndt and his modular table tennis system, this ridiculousness is a reality.

Simply put, users can arrange the tables in any configuration that they desire. You can even retro fit a traditional table to add wild new elements to your game. Currently, Arndt's table is up for a Next Big Thing Award for 2008, and a book is in the works that outlines configurations and rules for serious multi-player games. If it ever does go up for sale, all you would need is a really long Foosball table and some 3-player chess to complete the ultimate game room. [Project Page and Next Big Thing via Crunchgear]

Last Minute Gadget Gifts For Rich Dads, Fun Dads and Deadbeat Dads

Sean Fallon — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 17:00:00 EDT

We are really getting down to the wire here as far as Father's Day gifts are concerned, but there is still hope for finding that perfect present for hard-to-shop-for Dads. So, let's dispense with the normal fare like ties, golfing equiptment and GPS units (although GPS units are cool). Get something unique this year that he will always remember. The following guide will show you how.

Rich Dads:

Rich Dads are probably the hardest category of Dads to shop for. I mean, what do you give the man who has everything? Here are a few unique suggestions:

The UR-202 Wristwatch: Besides looking completely awesome, the UR-202 features a unique winding system that is regulated by compressed air. The winding is controlled using miniature twin turbines and the level of air compression generated by these turbines can actually be altered using a 3-position selector switch. Pricing information has not been made available on the UR-202, but if you have to ask you probably can't afford it. [Urwerk via Link]

Crystal Foosball Table: Your rich father may have a lot of stuff, but I guarantee he does not have something as fun and frivolous as a crystal foosball table with aluminum players. Again, the sticker shock would be too high for normal folk, so expect to shell out some serious bucks for dear old Dad. [Teckell via Link]

The Craftsman Professional Tool Set: Sure your father has tools, but does he have EVERY tool? This Craftsman Collection comes with 1470 pieces—enough to keep him tinkering until the end of time. Available for $$7,619.90 (before shipping). [Sears]

Motion Pro II Racing Simulator: If your father likes fast cars, chances are he would love a top of the line racing simulator that can run you in excess of $45,000 when you throw in extras like a panoramic screen, a six-speed gated shifter and custom bodywork. [CXC Simulations via Link]

Fun Dads

If your father has a sense of humor, the following gifts are sure to get a laugh:

Executive Ball Scratcher: What is the classy, executive gentleman to do when he has a very un-classy itch? This chrome plated ball scratcher is tough enough to do the dirty work, yet elegant enough to keep on a desk in plain view. Available for around $11.36. [Find Me a Gift]

Beaver Stuffing Kit: Most guys love stuffing beavers, and as much as you don't want to think about it, your father probably does too. So, give him what he craves with this beaver stuffing kit. Available for around $15 [Find Me a Gift]

Potty Putter: Golf balls may be a boring gift, but an entire putting system you can use from the comfort of your own toilet is another story entirely. Available for $19.95. [Baron Bob]

Control a Woman Remote: With functions like "cook," "clean," "remove clothes," "stop nagging" and a breast enhancer / reduction dial, this novelty remote is sure to get laughs—but probably not from your mother. Available for around $10. [Genie Gadgets]

Deadbeat Dads:

Let's face it, not everyone has a magical childhood because there are plenty of deadbeat Dads out there. If your father happens to be one of them, here are a few gifts that will tell him exactly how you feel:

Middle Finger Vibrator: This symbolic gift will tell him exactly where he can go and what he can do with himself. Available for $39.99. [Sex Toy Party]

Bed Snake Bat: Actually, this is more of a gift for that strip club waitress that your father dumped your mother for. Tell her to keep it next to the bed. If a bed snake should bother her in the middle of the night, she can whack it up good. Available for around $6. [Giftmonger]

Life-Sized Cardboard Policeman: This is the gift that will keep on giving. Put him on your father's doorstep, in front of his car, or just place it in his bedroom before the alarm goes off in the morning. Your father could go to jail for any number of reasons—it's all about keeping him on his toes. Available for $30.79. [Incredible Gifts]

Nothing: When all else fails, you could always get him nothing. But instead of simply showing up empty handed, bring him a packaged version of nothing. It makes for a more powerful statement. Available for around $7. [iwoot]

Crystal Foosball Tables Suck All of the Fun Out of the Game

Sean Fallon — Tue, 27 May 2008 21:00:00 EDT

We have seen long foosball tables, hi-fi foosball tables and even beautiful foosball tables before, but none can compare to the luxury and elegance that the Teckell Collection can provide. The tables come in a number of different versions, but they all feature a crystal frame with shiny aluminum players—potentially making them the most expensive foosball tables the world has ever seen.

The design company behind the tables has chosen not to share the pricing information, so the magnitude of sticker shock an interested foosball enthusiast can expect with the Teckell collection is unknown. Still, who would want one of these? Foosball is a casual game involving beer drinking, take no prisoners competition, yelling, screaming and the occasional fistfight—not dressing up in your Sunday best and sharing a glass of champagne with Richie Rich. [Teckell via Trends Now via DVICE]

Full-Body Virtual Foosball Game Called Ukikit (Get It?)

Wilson Rothman — Tue, 13 May 2008 17:15:00 EDT

The Wii-volution is in full effect at NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program—a perfect example is this physical virtual foosball game called Ukikit. You Velcro a pink strap to your foot, and an iSight camera tracks its movement while a sonar sensor tracks your proximity. The data translates into swivel kicks and side-to-side slides in (almost) realtime. I loved playing it with inventor Thomas Chan almost as much as I enjoyed the "Moving Parts" virtual pinball game, but as you can see in the video, both the system and I both need a little more practice before we're perfect. [Ukikit; ITP 2008]

World's Largest Foosball Table: You Don't Have This Much Game

Sean Fallon — Fri, 02 May 2008 18:30:00 EDT

Think you are a foosball champion? How about stepping your game up to the Table Football XXL? There is no information about how long this table actually is, but suffice it to say— you are going to need to bring some friends. In fact, two full soccer teams (22 players) could go head to head on this thing in what would undoubtedly be an epic foosballing showdown. Unfortunately, you may never get a chance to try your skill—the Table Football XXL is a one-of-a-kind item built as an advertising stunt for Amstel beer. [Airworks via DVICE]

The Hi-Fi Foosball Table is Fully Loaded

Sean Fallon — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 19:20:00 EDT

This unique foosball table dubbed "Toto Treme Terra" is a project recently unearthed by designer Chelpa Ferro. Not much is known about the hardware fitted into this thing, but it certainly does look intimidating. What we do know is that it results in a game of foosball with some unique sound effects. An audio clip is available on the project page link—but it would be a pity if that was all those speakers were used for. [Project Page via VVORK via Likecool]

Eleven Design Makes Foosball Beautiful

Kit Eaton — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 05:42:39 EDT

I've gone off foosball since I had my ass royally kicked when playing with a bunch of friends at a music festival, but Eleven may turn my opinion around. Hand crafted by GRO design and TIM modeling, because they thought foosball was "lacking serious design attention in recent years", it's just gorgeous. The players are machined in brass and chrome, the table itself is meant to be a bit architectural, like real stadiums, and minimal to not distract from the game. It's on show at the upcoming Milan Design Week, 16th to 21st April, and tragically it's just a working model. [Eleventhegame via Uberreview]

Anti-Social College Kids Build Autonomous Foosball Table

Benny Goldman — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 20:10:00 EST

Four engineering students from Georgia Tech have built an Autonomous Foosball Table, quite possibly the key to my never-ending quest to replace the humans in my life with robots. The funny thing is, this thing isn't just a gimmick; it may soon become a decent foosball opponent. The table system cost about $500 to build, and combines a webcam, an 800MHz Pentium PC and servo-controlled paddles to move, twist, and kick. Here's how it works:

The computer runs a Java Media Framework app that tracks the ball as well as the human opponent via webcam. The PC then issues commands to a PIC microcontroller across a serial line, based on the information it's receiving. From there, the microcontroller tells the servos to either move or kick the ball. In addition, the table can predict the trajectory of the ball, lifting its midfielders in time to set up a clear shot.

Despite how awesome it looks to the layman, the project wasn't perfect according to the team. For one, they'd like to improve the moving and kicking speeds, a task which would simply require larger (and more expensive) gears. Also, they would ideally have a webcam capturing video at 60fps instead of the current 30fps. These improvements, combined with a better AI engine, could pump the table up to beating a serious player, or at least most drunk and/or stoned college kids.

I would love to try this table out, and maybe I will. But until those improvements are made, I guess I'll have to settle for actual social interaction. [Autonomous Foosball Table via Hack a Day]

Honey, I Shrunk the Air Hockey Table

Charlie White — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 09:49:57 EDT

You'd better hope your fingers are small if you want to play these positively minuscule table games from Japan. They're shrunken down to palm size, letting you play hockey, Foosball or air hockey wherever you go. There are even fold-away legs to make them easier to carry around. Check out the air hockey game, where you turn on a switch and a battery-operated fan keeps that tiny puck slightly elevated over the table's surface, just like the real thing. Each air hockey, hockey and Foosball mini-table game is $12.85. [Rakuten, via Like Cool]

Luxury Offside Foosball Coffee Table Costs $7600

Jason Chen — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 19:00:12 EDT

Both a coffee table and a foosball table, this Offside Foosball table is just the thing for millionaire former dot com employees to re-live their happy days in the office. The $7600 table has a glass top, a mirrored foosball field and is hand-crafted by Howard Bushell in Worcestershire, England. Classy and tacky all at the same time. [Drinkstuff via Uncrate]

EA Sports Fifa '07 Case Mod Winner Melds Sport, Hardware

kthompson — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 19:53:05 EDT

The winner of last year's EA Sports Fifa case mod contest pulled a repeat this year, managing to outdo himself as well as the competition. The case itself is covered in a textured paint that simulates a leather soccer ball (sorry 'the rest of the world,' your sport is still "soccer" here) and even the peripherals are airbrushed to match. But the real kicker is the removable foosball table atop the chassis. Almost makes you wish you played Fifa, doesn't it?

Machine Specs:
• Mainboard: Asus nForce Socket AM2
• CPU: AMD Athlon64 X2 4200+
• RAM: Corsair 1024MB XMS2 PC6400
• GFX: Asus GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB
• DVD: LG DVD burner
• HDD: Western Digital 250GB
• PSU: Xilence 420W
• SND: Creative X-Fi Xtreme Gamer

[EA Fifa '07 Case Mod via Geekologie]

Floating Golf Game

Travis Hudson — Wed, 02 May 2007 17:40:51 EDT

Interested in working on your short game but that pesky backyard pool getting in the way? This poolside golf game is the perfect solution to that predicament. It floats in the water, and you can chip special "hoop-and-loop" (Velcro) balls onto it. Miss the target and be forced to get wet retrieving the balls. It is like a sick and twisted version of Chinese water torture, but in polos. If you feel the need to work on that long game, just toss the poolside golf game into the ocean. $50.

Floating golf, floating table tennis, what's next, floating foosball? I hope, foosball rocks. –Travis Hudson

Product Page [Via OhGizmo!]

A Lesson in Hustling

Travis Hudson — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 14:00:40 EDT

One by one they walked into the Irish pub, stepped to the table, placed down the quarters and prepared for a life lesson. "No spinning," I shouted, but they all obliged. These weren't amateurs; they knew what they were doing. I knew it was going to be a long night, especially with Verizon at the table and World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade, Canon, Don Julio, F.E.A.R., Mini, MSNBC, Marriott Hotels, Mio, Nine Inch Nails, Nokia, Rockport, SanDisk, Seagate, Sonos, SV Supreme Vodka, Sprint, Toyota and VW patiently waiting for their turn. One by one I knocked off the individuals. Some in dramatic fashion—some not, but in the end I knew I was the true loser at that foosball table. These challengers that I was hustling were the real winners, because they did what no others could.

Your foosball skills may be mediocre, but you have the heart of a lion.

Dartboard Wall Clock Not to be Confused with Foosball Wall Clock

Travis Hudson — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 16:30:58 EST

Kidding, there isn't actually a foosball wall clock, but that would be freaking awesome if it actually did exist. This dartboard wall clock will sit near and dear to the heart of any dart enthusiast. I would avoid hanging this up at a bar, though. Drunks will throw darts into anything, especially clocks that look identical to actual dartboards. $30. –Travis Hudson

Product Page [Via Coolest-Gadget]

Subbuteo Marco Leone USB Flash Drive

Travis Hudson — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 15:40:00 EST

We'll be heading over the pond for this one. Marco Leone has designed a USB flash drive that would be perfect for a little Subbuteo action. What is Subbuteo, you may be asking? Well, think of it as foosball without the cross bars and by flicking the little people instead. For further explanation go consult Wikipedia or YouTube.

These little USB flash guys sit atop their base and can be removed for flash memory usage. It is only a conceptual design right now, but I'm sure the Subbuteo players are peeing themselves at this idea and want these flash drives to become a reality. –Travis Hudson

Marco Leone USBKey - pocket storage meets table football [TechDigest]

Man Stuff - The Best of Uncrate

Travis Hudson — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 15:05:44 EDT

This week at Uncrate: We try to straighten out our pitiful drives with Nike's new SasQuatch 460cc titanium driver. The birds in the backyard get fed with a hip Tiki Hut bird feeder. We eye the classy 837 sterling silver Compass from Tiffany and Co. Lots of scheming goes on about getting together $4K for an awesome All-Weather Foosball Table. Plus, we get ready for summer fishing with the unique Bottle Cap Lures, admire the golf-themed Reef Mulligan Sandals, ingest some Jelly Belly Sport Beans, and are amazed at the no-batteries-needed-ever Forever Flashlight. Finally, we start to design our own Xbox 360 faceplate with the help of Pelican.

The week in Gizmodo

gizmodo — Sun, 01 Jun 2003 15:47:10 EDT

In case you missed any of them, some highlights from the past week here at Gizmodo:
The Hopbit: coming soon?
An iPod for DJs?
The travel robot
The Super PlayStation 2
The iGesture
Foosball robot
WiFisense: wearable WiFi detector
Japanese TV PC

Foosball robot

gizmodo — Thu, 29 May 2003 12:14:29 EDT

Researchers at the University of Freiburg in Germany have worked long and hard to build... a robot that can play foosball:

KiRo is a completely autonomous table soccer playing robot: using a camera it perceives the playing field and, depending upon the current game situation, it decides how the rods under its control should be moved.

I suppose that eventually they're going to build robots that can play (and beat) humans in every game just to prove that it can be done, but a foosball robot?
Read [Via Slashdot]