Games

CueLight puts an animated spotlight on pool-playing

CueLight puts an animated spotlight on pool-playing
The CueLight Interactive Pool Table System projects an animated display on pool tables, that follows the balls as they move
The CueLight Interactive Pool Table System projects an animated display on pool tables, that follows the balls as they move
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The CueLight Interactive Pool Table System's Reveal mode
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The CueLight Interactive Pool Table System's Reveal mode
The CueLight Interactive Pool Table System's handheld control unit
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The CueLight Interactive Pool Table System's handheld control unit
The CueLight Interactive Pool Table System projects an animated display on pool tables, that follows the balls as they move
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The CueLight Interactive Pool Table System projects an animated display on pool tables, that follows the balls as they move
The CueLight Interactive Pool Table System's Fire mode
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The CueLight Interactive Pool Table System's Fire mode
The CueLight Interactive Pool Table System projects an animated display on pool tables, that follows the balls as they move
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The CueLight Interactive Pool Table System projects an animated display on pool tables, that follows the balls as they move
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Finding your regular old pool table a little boring? Perhaps it needs some flames. Not real ones, but animated flames that are projected onto its playing surface and follow the balls as they move. If you're not a pyromaniac, you could instead go for an effect where the balls appear to ripple water as they roll across the felt, or one where they displace liquid to reveal an image of your choice that's hidden underneath. If this sounds like your kind of thing, then you might be interested in Obscura Digital's CueLight Interactive Pool Table System.

CueLight is already in use at Las Vegas' Paradise Tower Penthouse, Hard Rock Hotel and CasinoTM, and at the Esquire SoHo apartment in New York.

The system incorporates an overhead-mounted projector, that shines a 1920 x 1080-pixel display onto a conventional pool table at 60 frames-per-second. Users choose between Fluid, Fire and Reveal modes with a handheld control unit. One would assume that an overhead camera is also used, to track the movements of the balls (Obscura hasn't gotten back to us on that one yet).

The whole thing is a little reminiscent of Queens University's experimental camera-and-projector-based Settlers of Catan game.

CueLight is available with or without a pool table, for an undisclosed price. You can see it in all its flaming, rippling, revealing glory in the video below.

Source: OhGizmo

Cuelight

View gallery - 5 images
4 comments
4 comments
Nickov8
Cool. Now get it to work out the angles and show where the balls will end up ...
Robert Volk
OK- this is a really cool upgrade to a regular Pool Table. Overhead projector that projects an animated display on the pool table- follows the balls when hit. Very cool! Probably very expensive too- but the graphics are quite amazing!
Foxy1968
Anyone who has ever played in a comp would hate this. Any distraction however small can loose you a game. I guess for drunk idiots this would seem great, but for anyone who loves to play pool or any of the other games played on one of these tables I assure you it would be an unwanted addition.

Where would it stop. Next you will have advertisers advertising drinks on the table while you play so you can have a free game. Or worse make you pay for the game and bombard you with advertising.

No thanks.
MSG, US Army (Retired)
There\'s always someone who needs to pretend that they are the absolute authority on what constitutes the \"TRUE\" meaning of any sport, game, or methodology of anything, etc, etc.
Give me a break. This sounds like a fun way of livening up what can be a boring toy on your home game room. If you think of yourself as an expert (yeah, right), don\'t buy if. But don\'t slam a product that others might enjoy. You sound like those \"drunk idiots\" who think photography is only a true art in B&W, or that you must sniff, swirl and spit to be a true wine connoisseur.
Bull sh*t. I\'ve taken some awesome color photos around the world, I\'ve sampled many very good wines in several countries and only spit out one, because it had been stored improperly and turned. And I\'ve played pool for aver 40 years, and did pretty well in my younger years. This sounds like a really interested and artistic addition to my game room. Only a \"drunken fool\" would think otherwise.