Pong with Lasers

Pong that works anywhere

This version of the game pong was created by a senior at Cornell University. It uses a laser that displays the pong ball on any surface. Using the controllers which are attached to an Atmega32 microcontroller you can hit the digital ball back and forth to each other. Each of the controllers for pong has sensors so it can detect where they are and let the processor know when to change the direction of the ball.

A chalk board works best to play this game on as you can draw the boundaries and let the computer know exactly where they are. The system is built in 3 parts. First there is the laser project platform, next is the two hand held paddles and then the microcontroller connecting them all together. The laser beam is projected on to a mirror which is controlled by 2 motors on an x and y axis.

The sensors in the paddle/controller are light sensors which pick up when the laser ball hits it so that the ball can be sent back to the opponent. 3 sensors are in each controller so that the full length of the paddle will actually send the ball back to the opponent.

Overall I am impressed with this and wish the students well with their project.

Project Via: Gearfuse