This project of an air hockey robot has pretty great importance due to its wide range of
applications, such as practicing for competitions, entertaining, and even earning some money.
The main purpose during this project’s construction was to design and create a high-tech
robotic environment for the improvement of the engagement levels. The bot is designed to
play air hockey autonomously, using a table that has holes drilled in it purposefully for friction
reduction; the Oak-D camera for accurately and clearly detecting the puck; and the Raspberry
Pi 4, useful for image processing and taking on quick decisions. The robot’s movements are
well-structured so that any game in defense or offense can be properly and promptly responsive.
More importantly, an auto defense mode was added, where the robot is designed to keep the
goal’s defense in mind while doing high-speed gameplay. A joystick mode is also implemented
in the system whereby the user can manually control the robot with the use of an app. The
application does not only toggle the auto and joystick modes but controls, in real-time, the
movements which the robot will achieve with the use of a joystick. The major objectives of
the project are an autonomous air hockey robot, real-time image processing for tracking of the
puck, highly responsive robotic system, and flexible app-level interface-based control.
This will involve the design of a low-friction table, setting up the camera and Raspberry Pi 4 of
Oak-D, developing sophisticated algorithms that detect and control the movement, integrating
hardware and software components into one system, and extended testing and optimization for
performance and reliability. While several projects of air hockey robots have been made, this
project differs from them in that it leverages recent technologies, like automatic defense mode
and app-controlled joystick mode, to take the enjoyment and competitiveness of the game even
further. This robust and adaptive solution caters to various user needs in disparate uses for an
engaging experience.