Caution: High Speed Balls - A Ping Pong Ball Launcher for BBC Click

The team from Click on the BBC World Service invited folks from the London Hackspace to put something together for their live show. The result: a ping-pong ball launcher that released a ball every time someone around the world tweeted about the show. At the end, all those balls got launched into the live studio audience.

Tom Scott ( http://tomscott.com ) built the Twitter integration, which sent signals to Charles Yarnold's ( http://www.electriclaboratory.com ) custom laser-cut ball-release mechanism, which is available for download on Thingiverse: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:15800

Then Tom Wyatt's ( http://imakethin.gs ) contraption of motors, Lego and cardboard accelerated all those balls out into the crowd. If he'd turned the power up, we could have hit the back row - but then the whole thing might have blown itself apart!

More information on the London Hackspace: http://london.hackspace.org.uk/

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• london hackspace
• hackspace
• tomscott
• tom scott
• charles yarnold
• tom wyatt
• ping pong
• balls
• launcher
• live

[PyroTyger]

Tom, you're bloody amazing.

[ianj1828]

very nice.

[RogueBlueJay]

Do you live in London now?

[LevanoTipe]

FIRST!

Such a creative idea, i can say, though can be too offensive for feew number of people...

Glad most of people have some sense of humour