Toward a Competitive Pool Playing Robot: Is Computational Intelligence Needed to Play Robotic Pool?

This paper describes the development of Deep Green, an intelligent robotic system that is currently in development to play competitive pool against a proficient human opponent. The design philosophy and the main system components are presented, and the progress to date is summarized. We also address a common misconception about the game of pool, i.e. that it is purely a game of physical skill, requiring little or no intelligence or strategy. We explain some of the difficulties in developing a vision-based system with a high degree of positional accuracy. We further demonstrate that even if perfect accuracy were possible, it is still beneficial and necessary to play strategically.