Hasta La Gadget!

Man vs Machine is always a theme that will continue playing out for quite some time to come, no doubt about that. After all, we have seen how humans have more or less competed against computers in the game of chess, but when it comes to something more physical than cerebral, robots have a problem here since they have to deal with coordination and computation, where the former requires a whole lot of work. Students from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland have come up with a robot table-football (aka foosball) player which is capable of kicking the ball faster compared to most humans’ reaction times, but will they be as accurate as a human?

I am quite sure that in due time, the robot would have been “injected” with improvements to its artificial intelligence to be a formidable opponent, in addition to getting upgrades to its accuracy and ability to strategize. This particular robot foosball player is capable of kicking the ball across the table and into the goal, normally before most folks are able to set up their defense. A couple of computers will power its levers, sending the ball at a speed of six meters (20 feet) a second, and a camera is essential to make sure that this robot has got the tabs on the game at all times.

Robot Foosball Player Developed original content from Ubergizmo.

I’ve always enjoyed a good game of foosball – but full-size foosball tables are pretty expensive so I’ve never had one in my house. Here’s a fun way to play foosball with your pals for the low low price of $100 (plus an iPad.)

Created by New Potato Technologies, the iPad Foosball table plays just like an actual foosball table, but with virtual players on the screen of your iPad. It works along with an iOS game called Classic Match Foosball, and the 2-axis control levers work just like the real deal. Here’s a little video footage of the game in action:

You can get your hands on the Classic Match iPad Foosball Table over at New Potato Technologies for $99.99(USD). It’s compatible with all iPads with the 30-pin dock connector, so if you’ve got the iPad 4, you’ll just have to head down to the local pub if you want to play foosball. Or you could just buy one of these.

[via Gadget Review]

Why drop hundreds of dollars on a regulation-sized freestanding foosball table that’s just going to take up space, when for a mere $75 you can get XD Design’s beautiful Gol table that you can plop and play anywhere? More »