(via Engadget)
Sometimes, you need to play air hockey, and just can’t get anyone around you to play. When that happens, you really need to make yourself a remote air hockey table and play it up with someone clear across the country.
Videoconferencing is designed for coworkers who have met in person and want to work together remotely. It falls short, however, in introducing people, and does not account for the complex interaction patterns humans engage in when they meet for the first time. Airhockey Over a Distance aims to introduce people over a distance by utilizing the social power of a quick, casual game that can be played in the social spaces like canteens of distributed enterprises.
Airhockey Over a Distance is played like a conventional airhockey game. However, the table is split in half and the two ends are connected via a network. The players can see and hear each other at all times. They shoot a real puck back and forth, trying to score a goal. Once the puck passes the midway-line, its location is detected, and a corresponding physical puck is shot out at the other table.
[tags]Air Hockey, Remote gaming[/tags]