Very cool, but I found the recent post of robots juggling a single ping pong ball back and forth even more impressive, since they have to react to changing conditions versus basically just being a set of physical motions that is recorded and then "played back".

What the HELL is wrong with the reporter narrating the footage? He sounds like he's trying to rap to a beat that only he can hear. Alternatively, like he is trying to keep a ping-pong ball afloat while speaking. Dude, not all consonants have to be CRAZY articulated.

What technique! See how they effortlessly hit the ping pong ball back and forth without barely moving. You can tell how determined they are to win. Also you have to love the camera angles.

Aww, this version of her performance doesn't include the firing of ping-pong balls as a finale

>> ^mas8705:

hmm... Why do I think that this is going to be seen on mythbusters soon? I mean, the ball happens to fall on the fountain, the water keeps it in place and it sinks in...
FAKE! FAKE UNTIL PROVEN BY MYTHBUSTERS!


This is SO possible. You can balance a ping pong ball over your lips by blowing air out as though you're whistling.

The only "strange" thing is that it went in the hole.

Well it says the paddle stays flat and never tilts. So that means that in order to change the direction of the ball, the paddle must be moving at the point the ball hits the paddle in order to apply spin to the ball and get it to change direction. That probably makes this harder to engineer than it initially appears.>> ^COriolanus:

Question: why isn't it perfect?
Is there a "chaos" factor that throws off otherwise exact calculations?
Or are the calculations "dumbed down" for speed?

>> ^COriolanus:

Question: why isn't it perfect?
Is there a "chaos" factor that throws off otherwise exact calculations?
Or are the calculations "dumbed down" for speed?


Air movement and imperfections in the balls an paddle.

It does seem to find a sweet spot, which is why the 3 balls eventually collide.

>> ^Ti_Moth:

I for one welcome our new robot overlords.


I like balls.

*viral
http://www.adverbox.com/ads/nokia-n96-bruce-lee-ping-pong-viral/

I mean the fact that it's viral is pretty obvious from the camera work. Also, you can't just make contact with a ping pong ball and have it automatically fly back with the right direction + strength.

I pity the rapist, she could pinch it off and shoot it back like a ping pong ball

We did this in science class, but I think we used a ping-pong ball and less air.

No controller... but a special suit with ping-pong balls on it? We'll see...

Yeah, it's not the instrument that's problematic for that song. I can honestly admit I like simple electronic sounds. That is cool your keyboard works after that long. I don't think I've had any piece of electronic equipment last me more than about 10 years. I'm just too damn clumsy.

In reply to this comment by kronosposeidon:
You know that little Casio keyboard in that video? I have one just like that. I got it as a gift 25 years ago. And it still works. I gave it to my son, and now he messes around with it sometimes. You might not like its sound, but you have to admit it was built to last.

It is not new, but certainly fun to play with. I bought a smaller version of one at a science museum gift shop many years ago (I think it was in Vancouver). The only problem is that it is more of an "executive toy" than a basket, as any load of any significant mass placed inside causes it to unfold into another configuration. For flexibility in decoratively arranging ping pong balls, you can't beat it however!

Advertising in intro ends at -3:56

Ping pong balls:
http://www.videosift.com/video/Billys-Balls-2-Amazing-skill