Have a ball

Science World, Nov 22, 2004 by Britt Norlander

Now you can play ball in your living room--and not break your mom's favorite vase.

A new interactive system called XaviX (ZA-vix) hooks up to your television and lets you control onscreen bowlers, baseball batters, and tennis players without a joystick. Instead, you swing special balls, bats, and rackets.

In the bowling game, for instance, when you swing the ball, special sensors track its path. Scientists designed the system's optical (related to sight) sensors to capture images of the bowling ball's unique plastic. "The sensors measure the angle and velocity [speed in one direction] of the swing," says Peter Newman, an engineer at SSD Company Limited. Then, a high-speed processor uses the information to roll the onscreen ball in the same direction as your swing.

"It felt like I was actually bowling," says Gabrielle Attolino, a sixth grader. "I think I did better in the video game than I will in a real bowling alley."