Abstract
A predictive event-based method to simulate the physics of the game of pool is described, including event time prediction for collisions between balls and between balls and the rails and pockets of the table. The method uses the vector parametrisation of the equation of motion of a moving ball to predict analytically the time of occurrence of collision events. The method is both accurate, since it returns exact analytical solutions for ball trajectories using no linear approximations, and efficient, since it requires a minimal number of floating point operations for trajectory solution and collision prediction. It is suitable for use within a game-tree search, which requires a great many potential shots to be modelled efficiently, and within a robotic pool system, which requires high accuracy in predicting-shot outcomes.
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