This project uses a vision system that looks for puck and determines the best location to move the mallet. The processor power is coming from a Intel MinnowBoard Max. Details and code can be found here if you would like to build your own.
“The goal of the this project was to prove out the real time properties of the IoT Core OS. We chose the air hockey table due to the requirements involved in tracking a moving object across a plane and responding appropriately. The robot uses a color blob tracking camera to detect the location of the puck on a table surface, and uses stepper motors to move a striker mallet to intercept the puck. Additional sensors help detect goals and the XY mallet position. All of these devices hook into a MinnowBoard Max, which is responsible for taking in puck position data and calculating motor movements in response.”