As a project in the HAX Lab at Hornall Anderson, we wanted to recreate the classic cruise ship shuffleboard experience digitally. But, we still wanted to play it with a physical cue. The result was hacky and surprisingly fun.
UI Design, Visual Design, Physical Prototyping, Research
By projecting the game board at the full scale of a regulation shuffleboard court, we gave the illusion of an analog game. The gameplay was programmed with a realistic physics engine, to further the effect as much as possible.
We then mounted a set of infrared LED bulbs to the head of the cue, and tracked its position in 3D space with an infrared camera mounted above. The harder you hit the puck, the faster it goes, and your score is automatically recorded.
In order to project at the size we needed, we mounted two HD projectors on french rails 10 feet above. We used custom software to adjust for keystoning and distortion.
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An early shot of the projectors mounted on the adjacent wall.
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A sample of different court designs – traditional, branded, and swiss.