Computer uses webcam to play Pong with itself

As Pong attempts to solidify itself as the most hacked up game in the history of mankind, Ashish Derhgawen has programmed his computer to actually play a homegrown version of the title without any human interaction at all. By utilizing a webcam as the machine's eyes, he was able to write up an image recognition program that could detect borders and make appropriate movements based on where the ball currently was. Nothing too dramatic in terms of execution, but teaching an old computer new tricks always brings about a certain sense of pride. Check the video after the jump.

[Via hack a day]

[Crazylink @ Jun 16th 2007 12:07AM]

Can one of them win?

[paul34 @ Jun 16th 2007 12:16AM]

To answer this, we must first defer to the oh-so-wonderful testament to 80's movie greatness, "Wargames"

LOL

[Wwhat @ Jun 16th 2007 2:41PM]

The flaw of the movie wargames was that in reality if you analyze tic-tac-toe you will find the one that does the first move in tic-tac-toe should always win, and so the computer would actually initiate a nuclear war if it really used the game as basis for deciding.

[therpham @ Jun 16th 2007 12:24AM]

The only way to win is not to play.

[resource @ Jun 16th 2007 12:43AM]

I think my mind just exploded.

The end is near.

[eh @ Jun 16th 2007 12:52AM]

Whats next? Dividing by zero?

[Low @ Jun 16th 2007 2:06AM]

Oh greta. Now computer's are learning to masturbate. What is the world coming to?

[Richard Lai @ Jun 16th 2007 1:07AM]

Isn't this a waste of energy?

[johnny @ Jun 16th 2007 1:20AM]

I wouldn't say this is a waste of energy. Computer vision is the next big thing. Projects such as these are the first steps in becoming computer vision experts. You have to crawl before you walk.

[kaztm @ Jun 16th 2007 1:19AM]

Hey! I think I have the same webcam!!

What a difference in fate...mine is collecting dust, his is featured on Engadget.

[Constable Odo @ Jun 16th 2007 1:35AM]

A computer that plays with itself. The end product of artificial intelligence. These computers are becoming more and more like humans.

[Paulo @ Jun 16th 2007 1:46AM]

I think that's a computer playing against the other..
Isn't it?

[t-bone @ Jun 16th 2007 1:48AM]

Since it is running separate processes for the game, the computer can cheat against itself! Computer: "No fair! I cheated against myself!"

[toppgun @ Jun 16th 2007 1:50AM]

did I just spend the last 2 minutes of my life watching a game of pong played by two computers?

My mind just exploded

[Adoniteking @ Jun 16th 2007 2:24AM]

that goes to show computer do know how to have some fun...stand-by isn't the only way to kill boredom.

[Nubaeus @ Jun 16th 2007 2:45AM]

...so it plays with itself? I guess the up and down motion of the pong paddle... never mind

[Solomon @ Jun 19th 2007 6:23PM]

Nubaeus, that is the funniest post on Engadget today. Good one.

[eb @ Jun 16th 2007 3:29AM]

What is the title of this song?

[L. Cyphre @ Jun 16th 2007 4:39AM]

Pfff, *pong*. Tell me when we can make computers that can play far more complicated games, like... Like... Chess! With an artificial intellect that powerful, true AI shall be just around the corner!

...

What?

[Tom @ Jun 16th 2007 5:50AM]

I feel like just whipping a tennis ball at that camera.

[Jagannath A @ Jun 16th 2007 5:51AM]

the title of the post is misleading....
it cud have been 'computer playing pong on another computer using webcam' :D

and image processing takes some time so i guess the host computer will be winning if the velocity increases...

and one more question wat will the computer do if it loses... throw the webcam at the laptop or sends some virus thru the TCP/IP link.... hehe then it wud be fun to watch :D

[Tyler @ Jun 16th 2007 9:16AM]

Holy crap!!! What will they think of next. A computer that can play against itself without a webcam? Oh, wait...

[Saint @ Jun 16th 2007 9:36AM]

@eb:
It's Snow (Hey Oh) by Red Hot Chili Peppers.

[roarkmeister @ Jun 16th 2007 11:08AM]

Wow. You have succeeded in wasting many hours of you own life, and countless minutes of others. I commend you and your pong playing device.

You should try to make it play really fast. that would be cool.

[McHoffa @ Jun 16th 2007 11:43AM]

it's not a fair game really.. the laptop has the advantage of actually playing directly in the game, while the desktop has to watch the ball and track it's movements and adjust accordingly... so doesn't that mean if neither side is winning or losing that the desktop is actually better at the game? or does it mean that the desktop is more human? or.... nevermind... it doesn't mean anything...

[Preston @ Jun 16th 2007 1:29PM]

Nothing else I'd rather watch than some hot computer on computer action, yeah!

[Noga Rosenthal @ Jun 16th 2007 3:02PM]

Noga Rosenthal said:

Ultimately, these playful developments could lead to more serious applications, like automation. Giving computers the ability to recognize the real world evironment can lead to many benefits (or the inevitable takeover by robots :))

- Noga Rosenthal

[rafael @ Jun 16th 2007 4:33PM]

some people really dont have nothing to do ....
what a stupid waste of time..
get a life dude.

[Andrew Devis @ Jun 17th 2007 6:20AM]

Whats the big deal ? I've been using a computer and a webcam to play with myself for years !

[ddaw735 @ Jun 17th 2007 8:08PM]

This video was shot in russia.

[mogbert @ Jun 19th 2007 6:23PM]

OK, forgive this, but I got to:

OMGWTFBBQ! Teh HAXXOR!
Hes usign teh aimbot to haxxor my pogn! CHEETER!