Gosh,20 years ago? There was an article about Innovation in Pinball with a few proto pics...maybe someone has this,
but the playfield had a "sensing grid" below the art.
The ball tracking by this method was to eliminate many switches, making the game more reliable, less maintenance.
But what I like, is much like a loop shot with a line of rollovers, the embedded sensors could pick up more subtle distances,
resulting in more feedback. ie BOP, make the ramp, and if one doesnt..."Abort"...really hit or miss...but multiple results could occur
by speed or distance.
Add in OLED switches. playfeld holograms maybe, and i think one last area will be 3D printed animatronics.
Red and Ted would seem a bit archaic with a full 3D printed faces, covered in Silicone..You could hit the bash object
in different places, and at different speeds for different results, as sensors will be printed in the toy, along with all its movement.
Smack him in the eye, and he winces, taunts, and gets a black eye dent, that heals...unless you hit again...so an update to all that we hit.
Ramps, targets, and other sensors could now gain from this as well.
Add a few well controlled accelerator magnets, and now you hit an accelerator 3 times fast then a target, and your ball speed is registered, displayed
and points given. So tighter points on accuracy and speed.
Ive approached Stern staff several times, about running a contest with user ideas put forth on a forum.
Winner(s) see their ideas in production, Stern gets a Pile of new ideas from young and old, and the winner gets a free game.
Much like this thread....our collective imaginations are very valuable, IMO.