Students Create Laser Pong

There's something about Pong that brings the creativity out in people.  Whether it be geeky t-shirts, watches or tables that miraculously become games machines, who would have thought that a decades-old tennis emulation would be one of the most prevailing images of classic gaming.  Now, two students on Cornell University's ECE 476 Microcontroller Design course have taken the retro game and added the awesome power of lasers.

Wall of Pong can be played on any flat surface, and is a projected red ball that is "bounced" by two physical paddles.  Each paddle has three embedded light sensors which detect if the ball has made contact, sending it ricocheting off by virtue of a movable projector controlled by a specially programmed microprocessor.

There are videos of the game in action on the project page, and I have to say I'm very jealous – I want a Wall of Pong of my own!

Wall of Pong [via Hack a Day]