Application: Interactive Sports Simulator
Quatech Products Used: DSC-200/300 RS-422/485 Serial PCI Board

MultiSport Stadium is the world’s most advanced interactive sports simulator. In this virtual dream machine, players use real balls to compete against life-size video athletes. These on-screen athletes react in real time to the live player’s throw, pass or pitch. This virtual world is created with help from Quatech’s DSC-200/300.

The system utilizes infrared sensors to detect the trajectory of the real ball after it has been launched by the player. This real-time communication process is made possible by Quatech’s two port RS-422 serial I/O board, the DSC-200/300, which allows the PC to communicate with both pairs of Newton Lab sensors. One of the serial ports communicates with the downrange array and the other to the up-range array. The computer then analyzes this information and projects a virtual ball to continue the flight into 3-D space on-screen. At the same time, the computer selects and runs an appropriate video script from a library of pre-captured footage. The result is a seamless interactive sports experience, in which the player enjoys the thrill of playing in a pro stadium against top athletes, like Dominik Hasek, Tony Meola and Ronnie Lott.