The 2008 ScreenBurn Festival
March 7 - 11, 2008
Austin, Texas

I’ve always wanted a vintage Ms. Pac Man Sit Down Arcade, but what if games were incorporated into modern furniture that was a little more functional when the game’s over? Check out Moritz Waldemeyer’s Pong Table, created for the Modern Museum of Art’s elasticmind exhibit. With 2400 LEDs combined with two track pads, it produces a live Pong Effect right on your tabletop. You can turn off the LEDs when you’re finished to have dinner with the family. Game and dine, or dine and game.

Robots may not be stealing your luggage, but they are playing Guitar Hero. Previous incarnations of Guitar Hero playing robots, like one called Guitar Heronoid created by Garage Geeks Rafael Mizrahi and Tal Chalozin, have been designed to directly interfacing with the game. Recent Minnesota West Technical & Community College graduate Pete Nikrin has taken it one step further. Developed as part his second year project, Nirkin’s robot utilizes an “eye” connected to a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) to actually “see” the notes on the screen. The information is then relayed to solenoids which trigger the robot’s fingers to push the buttons on the controller. Nirkin’s robot may not be as accomplished a player as his friend who inspired the project, but it has achieved an impressive 90% proficiency when playing in the “Easy” mode. Nirkin and his robotics instructor Bill Manor are still working to improve the robot’s response time and, as an added bonus, give the would-be hero a characteristic rock star “swagger.” Nigel Tufnel look out.