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Ice Hockey Puck Tracer

A cursor on TV that helps viewers see the puck
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After watching the Stanley Cup final, which was quite an exciting match from what I could tell, I decided to invent something to make this game accessible for more than the why-are-they-so-crazy-about-this-game ice hockey fans who seem to be naturally following the smaller-than-fly puck on a 30-ft-away screen with some kind of born-with or artificially-improved superior vision capability. I would like to code, or sponsor someone to code a software that will spot the puck in the successive frames and encircle it with a soccer-ball-sized semi-transparent orange globe that will follow the puck wherever it goes. This, I am sure, will enable more common people to follow this interesting still-obscure but fun-to-watch sport and save the league from more lockouts like the one few years ago. I do not think it is an out-of- reach or unreasonable idea, is it now halfbakers? But if you say it is, no problem, as I am all geared up for the imminent world cup, where I can easily see the item being played with. I am just trying to help before I forget everything about ice hockey or anything else for that matter and happily turn into a soccer (football duh!) zombie in a few days.
xkuntay, Jun 08 2014

Fox Network http://www.youtube....watch?v=grOttsHuuzE
did this for quite a while. [FlyingToaster, Jun 08 2014]

Dark Sucker Theory http://www.asu.edu/...ps/phun/sucker.html
It's on the Internet, so it must be true ... [8th of 7, Jun 10 2014]

[link]






       You might be able to embed an RFID chip into the body of the puck. Then the same sort of scanning radio waves that data thieves use to get your card data from a distance can be used to track the puck all over the ice.
Vernon, Jun 09 2014
  

       Hi Vernon. Nice to see you again. Looks like this was baked some 20 years ago. I am stuck in the 90s, gotta catch up.
xkuntay, Jun 09 2014
  

       Just put sparklers on the puck.
not_morrison_rm, Jun 09 2014
  

       Infrared strobe. Invisible to the players, visible to the cameras.
8th of 7, Jun 09 2014
  

       Probbly easier to stick on IR retro reflecting materials on the puck. Means no batteries needed for the puck.
mofosyne, Jun 09 2014
  

       As an alternate to an RFID chip (some of which have no battery power; they are powered by the energy of the impinging radio waves), you could embed a simple metal octahedral "corner reflector" into the puck. Corner reflectors bounce electromagnetic waves directly back toward their source; an octahedral version can reflect in any direction. The larger the reflector, the longer-wavelength the EM waves can be, that are reflected efficiently. The puck limits the max size this reflector can be, but I'm pretty sure it can work well with an appropriate microwave frequency.
Vernon, Jun 09 2014
  

       There is no point whatsoeveratall in tracing the actual trajectory of the puck.   

       What would be far more fun would be to trace bizarre trajectories, eventually arriving at the goal (? net? wicket? whatever) at the same time as the actual puck, but by a more interesting route.
MaxwellBuchanan, Jun 09 2014
  

       Then you might as well use laser pointers to create fake pucks on the actual ice and confuse the players. That might be even more interesting.. but wait, how do you create a black puck using light beams??
xkuntay, Jun 10 2014
  

       Use "Dark Sucker" technology ...   

       <link>   

       J.
8th of 7, Jun 10 2014
  

       //What would be far more fun would be to trace bizarre trajectories   

       That'll be your puckish sense of humour coming through..   

       //Use "Dark Sucker" technology   

       More or less done in the 1970's by Punch, with their "organic darkness" article.
not_morrison_rm, Jun 10 2014
  
      
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