There's been some contention at The Sunday Game™ about the use of
computers to generate random numbers. Usually, dice are used, but there is
a small minority who prefers the use of computers over the use of physical
dice when random numbers are called for.
But this, I think, is an excellent compromise.
I had a soft target of a machine capable of 200,000 rolls a day,
as site traffic is growing. However, any automation project worth
doing is worth over doing, and I way overshot the mark. The result
is what you see here: a machine that can belch a continuous river of
dice down a spiraling ramp, then elevate, photograph, process and
upload almost a million and a half rolls to the server a day. I may
not get nominated for a Nobel prize, but the deep rumbling vibration
you feel more than hear when two rooms away is quite impressive.
Via crasch,
Dice-O-Matic hopper
and elevator - GamesByEmail
It's a dice rolling machine! A computer controlled machine to roll
dice—the computer uses a camera to read the results. Now this is
a computer generated random number I can trust.
You have my permission to link freely to any entry here. Go
ahead, I won't bite. I promise.
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