#3884 Miniature Golf on a Pool Table w/Images
#3884 Miniature Golf on a Pool Table w/Images
I Built a Mini Bowling Lane
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sriRDDAa19A
#3884 Describe a dynamically configurable miniature golf course on a pool table
This concept merges the precision of billiards with the whimsical challenge of miniature golf, elevated by robotics and augmented reality technology.
Here is a description of a dynamically configurable miniature golf course integrated into a standard pool table.
The Concept: The "Apex Links" Table
The Apex Links system is not a permanent modification that ruins a pool table for billiards. Instead, it is an integrated overlay system using hidden magnetic actuators and overhead projection to transform a standard slate bed into an infinitely variable mini-golf course.
The core idea is that physical obstacles move across the felt surface automatically between holes, creating new layouts in seconds without human intervention.
1. The Core Technology: Under-Slate Magnetic Actuation
The "magic" happens beneath the surface.
The Grid beneath the Slate: Bonded to the underside of the pool table's slate bed is a high-density grid of powerful electromagnets.
The Surface Obstacles: The course features a set of modular obstacles—ramps, walls, curved bumpers, and gateways. These are lightweight 3D-printed shells with smooth, felt-safe bases. Inside each obstacle are strong neodymium magnets.
The "Dynamic" Aspect: By activating the under-slate electromagnets in rapid sequence, the system can grab the ferromagnetic obstacles through the slate and felt, sliding them across the table surface into precise configurations. When the magnets are disengaged, the obstacles sit inert on the felt, solid enough to deflect a heavy cue ball.
2. The Components
A. The Obstacles (The "Movable Parts")
These items are stored in the table's ball return gullies or along the rails when not in use, and deploy automatically:
The Wedges: Simple triangular ramps to jump the ball over other obstacles or hazards.
The Walls: Straight barriers of varying lengths to create mazes or block direct paths to pockets.
The Vortex: A circular piece with a slight incline toward a center hole, acting as a "target" that isn't a pocket.
The Gateways: Small arches equipped with optical sensors that register when a ball passes through them.
B. The Augmented Reality (AR) Overhead Layer
Mounted above the table (perhaps disguised as a standard pool table light fixture) is a high-lumen projector and a camera array.
Course Marking: The projector overlays glowing lines onto the felt, showing the starting tee box, the "out of bounds" areas, and the intended path to the hole.
Interactive Hazards: The projector can create "virtual water hazards." If the camera sees the ball stop on a projected blue area, the system registers a penalty stroke and flashes red lighting.
Scoring Display: The current hole number, par, and player scores are projected directly onto the table's rails.
C. The Pockets (Targets and Traps)
The six standard pool pockets serve dual purposes, configurable hole-by-hole:
The Goal: In some layouts, one specific pocket is illuminated as the target "hole." Sinking the ball there ends the round.
The Hazards: In other layouts, all pockets are "sand traps" or "water." Landing in them incurs a penalty stroke, and the player must reset the ball.
3. The Gameplay Experience
Instead of a cue stick, players use a specialized "table putter"—a short shaft with a heavy, rubberized head designed to strike the cue ball smoothly without risking tears to the felt cloth.
The "Dynamic" Loop:
Selection: Using a tablet interface mounted near the table, players select a course difficulty (e.g., "Pro-Am," "Crazy Golf," or "Survival Mode") or design their own.
Configuration (Hole 1): The table emits a low hum. Suddenly, obstacles slide across the felt, driven by invisible magnetic forces. A ramp centers itself; two walls create a narrow chicane leading to the corner pocket. The overhead projector lights up the starting tee area behind the head string.
Play: Player 1 places the cue ball and putts. They bank off the rail, through the magnetic chicane, and sink the ball in the target pocket. The table sensors register the sink; lights flash green, and the score updates on the projected rail display.
Reconfiguration (Hole 2): As soon as the ball is retrieved, the table immediately resets. The ramp slides into a corner, out of play. The two walls rotate 90 degrees to block the previous target pocket. A new target pocket at the far end illuminates. The course is completely different in under five seconds.
Example Layouts
The Jump Shot: A single ramp is placed in the center of the table. The target is the far center pocket. The player must hit the ball hard enough to jump the ramp, clear a projected "water hazard" behind it, and land softly enough to roll into the pocket.
The Pinball: Five or six bumper obstacles are scattered in the center. The player must bank the ball off at least three different obstacles (tracked by the overhead camera) before sinking it in any corner pocket.
The Maze: All obstacles form a tight, winding corridor down the length of the table. Precision putting is required to navigate the turns without hitting a wall and losing momentum.
Provide images of the three layouts (Tool: Images)
Here is a description of the dynamically configurable miniature golf course, the "Apex Links," along with images of its three example layouts.
The Concept: The "Apex Links" Table
The Apex Links system is an integrated overlay that transforms a standard pool table into an infinitely variable mini-golf course using hidden magnetic actuators and overhead projection. Physical obstacles move across the felt automatically between holes, creating new layouts in seconds.
The core technology involves a grid of powerful electromagnets beneath the table's slate bed. These magnets manipulate ferromagnetic obstacles on the surface, sliding them into precise configurations. An overhead projector adds augmented reality elements like course markings, hazards, and scoring.
Example Layouts
Here are three distinct layouts that the Apex Links table can configure automatically:
1. The Jump Shot
This layout features a single ramp in the center of the table. The player must hit the ball with enough force to jump the ramp, clear a projected "water hazard" behind it, and land softly enough to roll into the target pocket.
2. The Pinball
In this configuration, multiple bumper obstacles are scattered across the center. The player must bank the ball off a specified number of these bumpers before sinking it in the corner pocket. The overhead projector tracks the ball's path, showing glowing lines between the obstacles it hits.
3. The Maze
For this layout, the magnetic wall segments are arranged to form a tight, winding corridor down the length of the table. Precision putting is required to navigate the turns without hitting a wall and losing momentum. The overhead projector illuminates the safe path to the target pocket at the end of the maze.
Change gears: Describe a digital projector with computer vision to display each hole on a flat surface, preferably one that a person can stand on and use a real putter.
This concept moves away from mechanical actuation on a small table and toward large-scale augmented reality (AR) situated in a real physical space.
This system, which we will call the VisionPutt Atrium, is a room-scale installation designed to project fully interactive miniature golf courses onto a walkable floor, allowing players to use real equipment while interacting with virtual terrain.
Here is a description of the system's components, technology, and user experience.
The VisionPutt Atrium: System Overview
The VisionPutt is not a single device, but an integrated environmental system. It transforms an open, flat floor space (roughly 20ft x 15ft) into an infinite number of putting greens using high-intensity projection mapping and real-time computer vision tracking.
Unlike the pool table concept which used physical barriers, the VisionPutt relies entirely on virtual topography. The floor remains physically flat, but it looks like it has hills, ramps, and hazards due to forced-perspective projection.
1. The Hardware Infrastructure
The system requires a dedicated space with controlled lighting and a specialized ceiling rig.
A. The Projection Surface (The "Canvas")
The floor is not standard carpet or concrete. It is covered in a specialized, durable matte-grey vinyl flooring designed for high-foot-traffic projection.
Characteristics: It provides slight resistance similar to a very fast putting green, but its primary goal is to be a high-gain, non-reflective screen that maximizes contrast, ensuring virtual "water" looks blue and virtual "grass" looks green, even with lights on in the room.
B. The Overhead Gantry (The "Eyes and Light")
Suspended from the ceiling about 10–12 feet above the play area is a rigid truss holding the active equipment:
Dual Ultra-Short-Throw Laser Projectors: To cover a walkable space without the players casting massive shadows over their own ball, two powerful (10,000+ lumen) laser projectors are mounted wide apart. They use ultra-short-throw lenses to project almost straight down, stitching two images together seamlessly to cover the entire floor area.
The CV Array (Computer Vision): Mounted centrally are four high-speed depth-sensing cameras (similar to advanced LiDAR or stereoscopic sensors). These cameras map the 3D space in real-time at 120 frames per second.
2. The Computer Vision Core (The "Brain")
The magic of the VisionPutt lies in the software's ability to bridge the physical and digital worlds instantly.
A. Object Differentiation and Tracking
The CV system is trained to recognize and track three distinct categories of objects simultaneously:
The Ball: It tracks the precise position, velocity, and spin vector of a real golf ball.
The Putter Head: It tracks the orientation and movement of the clubface as it approaches the ball.
The Humans: It tracks the location of players' feet in real-time.
B. The Physics Engine and "Virtual Resistance"
Because the floor is actually flat, the system must trick the player's brain and the ball.
If the course has a virtual uphill ramp: The projectors show a ramp. When the player putts the ball "up" the ramp, the CV system detects the ball entering that zone. The physics engine calculates that the ball should slow down and curve. It then instantly projects a "shadow" or "halo" around the real ball that warps its perceived movement, while simultaneously using subtle auditory cues (the sound of a ball struggling up a hill) to reinforce the illusion.
Virtual Walls: If the ball hits a projected brick wall, the CV system detects the "impact" point instantly. The physics engine calculates the rebound angle and speed, and the projector flashes a collision animation while the ball rolls away in the new direction.
3. The Gameplay Experience
The player steps onto the grey floor holding their own real putter and a real golf ball.
Step 1: The Setup The floor illuminates with a vibrant green miniature golf hole. It looks three-dimensional. There is a glowing starting circle. The player drops their ball in the circle.
Step 2: The Approach As the player walks toward the ball, the CV system tracks their feet. The projection automatically masks out areas right under their shoes so they aren't standing on "top" of virtual obstacles, maintaining the illusion.
Step 3: The Putt and Interaction The player strikes the ball.
The Hazards: The ball rolls toward a projected sand trap. As it enters the beige projected area, the system triggers the sound of crunching sand, and the ball visually "sinks" slightly into the projection.
The Boost Pads: The ball rolls over a glowing blue arrow. The system recognizes this and triggers a sci-fi acceleration sound effect, perhaps flashing trailing lights behind the real ball to emphasize speed.
Step 4: The Hole-Out The target is not a physical cup, but a projected black hole with a glowing rim. When the CV system detects the ball crossing the center point of the virtual cup with the correct speed, it triggers a "sinking" animation—the ball appears to drop into the floor accompanied by a satisfying "clink" sound from the speakers, and fireworks explode across the floor projection. The hole is complete, and the floor immediately morphs into the next layout.
This is the single greatest technical challenge in creating walkable projected environments, often referred to as "shadow occlusion."
If you use a single standard projector suspended overhead, as soon as the player leans over to putt, their head and shoulders will cast a massive shadow directly over the ball, the putter head, and the intended line of the putt.
To solve this, we must move from a single-source projection model to a Multi-Angle Ultra-Short-Throw (UST) Array with Software Blending.
Here is a description of how to configure the hardware and software to ensure the player never blocks the view of the course.
The Solution: The "Shadow-Canceling" Array
The core concept is redundancy of light. Every pixel on the floor must be targetable by at least two, preferably three or four, different projectors located at wildly different angles. If the player's body blocks one line of sight, others must be available to fill in the gap immediately.
1. The Hardware Setup: The Four-Corner UST Rig
Instead of one projector in the center of the ceiling, we require four high-lumen Ultra-Short-Throw (UST) laser projectors, mounted high near the corners of the room.
Why Ultra-Short-Throw (UST)? Standard projectors throw light at a shallow angle across a room. UST projectors use complex mirror lenses to throw a huge image from a very short distance, usually nearly straight down.
By mounting UST projectors high up and spreading them out, the light hits the floor at a very steep (near-vertical) angle. A steep light angle means that any shadow cast by a standing person is very short and remains tucked directly beneath their feet, rather than stretching out across the play area.
2. The "Cross-Fire" Configuration
The projectors are arranged to fire across the play space toward the center.
Projectors A & B (Front/Back): Positioned facing the player's chest and back. When the player addresses the ball, their back might block Projector A. However, Projector B has a clear, unimpeded view of the ball area from the front.
Projectors C & D (Sides): Positioned to the left and right of the player. These fill in any side shadows caused by the player's legs or the putter shaft itself.
Because light is additive, these four overlapping images would normally create a blindingly bright center and dim edges. This is fixed by software.
3. The Software Magic: Edge Blending and Passive Fill
We need sophisticated projection mapping software (such as Scalable Display Technologies, VIOSO, or disguise) to manage this array.
A. Geometric Correction (Warping) Because the projectors are hitting the floor from the corners, the raw images will be trapezoidal and distorted. The software takes the input from the four projectors and digitally warps them so they form a perfectly rectangular, seamless, contiguous image on the floor.
B. Edge Blending The software identifies where the four projector cones overlap. It creates soft, graduated "masks" in these overlap zones, reducing the brightness of each individual projector in that area so that the final combined image has uniform brightness across the entire floor.
C. The Result: "Passive Shadow Filling" This is the practical outcome of the setup. You don't necessarily need complex real-time tracking to defeat shadows.
When a player stands over the ball:
Their back blocks 80% of the light from Projector A.
However, the software blend has ensured that Projectors B, C, and D are also aiming at that exact same spot.
While the area under the player might become slightly dimmer because one light source is removed, it does not go black. The remaining three projectors provide enough illumination to keep the course geometry, the ball, and the virtual hole clearly visible.
The Advanced Option: Active Dynamic Shadow Filling (Computer Vision)
For the ultimate, high-budget experience, the passive system above can be augmented with the Computer Vision (CV) system mentioned in the previous response.
Tracking: The CV cameras track the exact 3D position of the player.
Calculation: The software calculates in real-time: "Given where the player is standing, they are currently blocking Projector A's view of the ball area."
Compensation: The software instantly sends a command to Projectors B, C, and D to overdrive their brightness specifically in that blocked area, perfectly compensating for the loss of light from Projector A.
Note: This active method is incredibly compute-intensive and requires very low-latency hardware to prevent a "laggy shadow" effect, but it results in zero perceptible dimming under the player.
From <https://gemini.google.com/app/> Google Gemini 3.0 Pro (Thinking)
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