Augmented reality squash
Squash, like most racket sports, is something I enjoy playing a lot. I’ve often wondered in the sauna after a game how you could improve squash with technology.
Currently, you play squash in a 9.75 x 6.4m court with walls all around it. You are allowed to hit the ball via all walls, as long as you manage to hit the front wall once before the ball bounces on the floor.
This is fun and all — but sometimes the ball is too close to the walls making it hard to hit without the racket bouncing off the wall as well. We call this getting “squashed” because no matter how good you are, sometimes the ball is just very difficult to hit.
What if the walls were invisible and your racket could move through them but the ball itself would still bounce off them?
This doesn’t seem to be an impossible task. First one would need to simulate the ball and the walls — then players could use augmented reality goggles to see these invisible walls. Then, the hard part would probably be to calculate how a certain hit with the racket turns into velocity, spin and direction of the ball. Simulated physics.
How fun would this game be? If the physics are done well, and the feel of the racket hitting the ball can be simulated well it would be awesome to try!
Additionally, this would change the game in two great ways:
- With simulated courts, two players would not need to share the same court. This would nullify the other problem with squash — running into the other player. (Currently with two players on such a small court, a big part of the game is simply not hitting or running into the other opponent — which limits the freedom of play)
- One could play squash anywhere, not only in designated squash halls. Simply simulate the walls on any floor where the area is large enough.’
Perhaps even play squash over the internet with friends in different countries? Possibilities…
