The traditional tabletop sport of air hockey been played in its current form for a long time and, while it may be enjoyable at first however, the absence of thrilling elements can turn it into a boring after a time. Therefore, to test his imagination and technical abilities, Silas Hansen decided to make his own version of this game, by creating an inflatable football field. The table was created and built entirely from scratch using the most innovative manufacturing methods.
Its base table was created by cutting lasers from various parts made of MDF board into sides and the final layers of top. For smoothness it was made from a solid piece of acrylic with several holes that allowed air to flow through. The corners, supports as well as game pieces were printed 3D.
To track score, each side on the table is outfitted with an individual IR line-tracking sensor, which sends a signal to the Arduino Uno when the puck goes under. As a result, the WS2812B strips around the table are illuminated in the color of the winner and the score that has been updated is transmitted by UART directly to an Nextion 4.3″ TFT display. All electronics can be shut off using a red button, however the huge fan at the bottom must be disconnected physically from the batteries.
For more details on the project, you can check out Hansen’s Arduino Project Hub write-up or see it in action below!
