Smart Poker Table - I need this. Badly.

Some smart kids from Purdue are pursuing a very worthy project for their digital systems design class: a "smart" poker table which uses RFID to track the flow of chips and the status of the game. Though including RFID elements in each poker chip might be a bit of a technological hurdle, there are other ways this could be done - cameras with image-recognition come to mind, especially - and the important think is what functionality could be accomplished. Here's what I'm thinking:

-Keep track of whose turn it is to bet, and how much. It's waaay too easy to lose track of that stuff in a social poker game!

-Instantly count the amount of all-in bets in no-limit poker; it can take agonizingly long to determine who's putting who all in otherwise.

-Indicate who leads the betting in a stud game, based on highest showing cards.

-For God's sake, show who didn't ante when there's only one missing from the pot!

-And just to top it all off, voice recognition of what game the dealer just called, so the table can track it all properly.

There are plenty of horrifically difficult design problems out there to be solved, but precious few that are purely fun. This is one of those - so someone, get it on the market!
[via Make]