Shooter in Action
How It Works
Image Processing
A bird-eyed view photo is taken and MATLAB image processing capabilities are used to locate the positions of both balls. The angle and position the cue stick needs to be orientated is then determined through geometric calculations.
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Fig. 1 (a.) Coordinate locations of the cue (left) and target (right) balls.
Controller
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An Arduino microcontroller is used to execute positioning ofthe cue stick, accepting the x-distance of translation and theangle relative to the axis across the length of the table as inputs.
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Fig 1 (b.) Angle and line of action
required for target ball to
move in direction of pocket.
Firing Mechanism
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The cue stick is manually spring loaded in place, and a servomotor is used to release the cue stick when ready to fire.
Fig. 2 Two stepper motors provide translation accuracy to an 1/8 of a step, with 200 steps/rev. A servo motor provides precise angular positioning for the cue stick
Fig. 3 Spring loaded cue shooter.
An Automatic Billiard Shooter
The Pool Shark Project aims to design and build a preliminary step in an automatic billiard shooter mechanism using a mini sized pool table.
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The inspiration for this project sparked from great intereest in the game of pool, and curiosity to see how well compared to a human a computer could execute a shot in a game that requires steady and still motion and high precision.​​
I am currently a 4th year studying Mechanical Engineering at UC Berkeley. I am originally from Los Angeles, CA. I will be graduating in May 2017 with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, after which I will be applying to graduate school in the fall and hope to study applied mechanics.
Eric Ocegueda
The Creators
Hongchang Zhu
I am currently a fourth year undergraduate Mechanical Engineering student at UC Berkeley. My areas of interest are robotics, controls and autonomous driving. I am planning to apply for graduate school in the upcoming fall and hope to study controls.
Juan E. Morales
I will be graduating in December 2017 with my B.S. in mechanical engineering. I plan to apply to graduate school and study more in the applications of dynamics within biomechanics. I have been competitively running for 9 years, I love shooting pool, and I co-founded a moving service called Students With Muscle.