The speaker in the video is discussing the creation of a robotic pool cue that uses technology to analyze the pool table and calculate the best shot. The robot's movements are controlled by a series of actuators and servos, while its position and orientation are determined by a camera system and an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU). The robot's movements are guided by a physics simulation that uses a graph structure to represent all possible outcomes of a shot. The speaker also discusses the challenges they faced during the development of the robot, including issues with the camera's distortion, servo motor specifications, and the physics simulation. Despite these challenges, the robot was able to make shots that are difficult for humans to execute. The speaker concludes by discussing the potential for playing pool online with someone else over the internet, using the robot to guide the game.
1. The speaker is developing a robot to play pool, focusing on 8-ball pool. [Source: Transcript]
2. The robot will have a camera system to watch the game and figure out what's going on, a complicated algorithm to interpret this and figure out the best shot, and a pool cue with a magic robotic tip that can take the shot. [Source: Transcript]
3. The robot's platform will be driven remotely through tension cables, with the servos on one side of a broomstick and the moving end on the other. [Source: Transcript]
4. The robot's cue will be controlled by a computer program that uses a camera mounted on the ceiling to track the position of the balls and the cue. [Source: Transcript]
5. The speaker is considering projecting the user interface onto the pool table to make the game more immersive. [Source: Transcript]
6. The speaker has discovered a problem with the servo motors controlling the end of the platform, which are not rotating the expected amount. [Source: Transcript]
7. The speaker is developing a calibration system to correct for optical distortion caused by the camera lens. [Source: Transcript]
8. The speaker is considering a way to play pool online with someone, where the computer can tell where to hold the stick and then take the shot for the player. [Source: Transcript]
9. The speaker has built a system to calculate all possible shots based on a physics simulation, creating a dense network of all possible outcomes. [Source: Transcript]
10. The speaker is considering connecting the pool table to Twitch to play a real game of pool with a crowd. [Source: Transcript]