From Superinnovators 23/11/23. This article is in TLDR (Too Long Didn’t Read) format which is popular in the innovation community and provides a bullet summary of information.
- Motion-tracking dartboard: TU Wien, Austria, has developed an innovative dartboard that automatically aligns itself to ensure any dart thrown towards it hits the desired point. This system, which reacts in just 250 milliseconds, represents an advancement in the integration of automation and recreational gaming.
- Design: The dartboard features a novel cable-driven robot design. This approach allows for dynamic movements and rotations, a significant improvement over previous designs that required complex and rigid mechanical systems.
- Development team: The 2022 project was spearheaded by Prof. Andreas Kugi at TU Wien’s Automation and Control Institute (ACIN). Key team members include Georg Feiler, Michael Schwegel, and Ulrich Knechtelsdorfer, who played crucial roles in the development and implementation of the control system.
- Technical methodology: The team employed advanced mathematical models, control systems, and AI image recognition algorithms. These elements work together to track the dart’s flight and adjust the dartboard’s position with high precision, using flexible, lightweight cables for movement.
- Novel automation: This innovation exemplifies a novel application of automation, demonstrating how precision and control can be achieved in real-time. It presents a unique case where the accuracy of the throw is less critical, thanks to the dartboard’s ability to adjust its position.
- Treble twenty or bullseye: The system can be programmed so that the dart lands in various locations of choice such as the highest scoring treble twenty spot or the bullseye. Yet, there are constraints, the dart trajectory still has to be within a certain area for the system to work.
- Creative technology: The dartboard is an example of creative problem-solving in the field of automation. It shows how traditional games can be reimagined with modern technology and the learnings could be applied in different spheres such as manufacturing.
- Previous smart dartboard: Mark Rober, a former NASA engineer, developed a similar innovation in 2014, an Automated Bullseye Dartboard that enriches the traditional dart game with advanced motion tracking technology.
More info
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405896322025435?via%3Dihub
https://nerdist.com/article/automatic-bullseye-dartboard-science-rober-nasa/
