I became intrigued by the real potential in the Dart idea for expanding recreational opportunities for the disabled, and I became involved in the technology to see if we can make special adaptations work. It includes a laser videodisc player under the control of a 386 computer, a video projection system, and a target face complete with an extremely accurate sensor system. Dart software is designed to randomly access any one of the sixty wildlife scenarios recorded on the system videodisc. As one or more archers wait in a darkened 20-yard tunnel, the image of a game animal appears on the screen. In this actual footage filmed in the wild, the animal moves in and out of vegetation, simulating the very conditions and decisions a hunter encounters in the field.
Archers typically use their own bows and arrows, with blunt tips supplied by the range operator.
Once the wildlife scenario starts to play, the archer draws and, just as in a real hunting situation, must wait for a good shot opportunity. If he waits too long, the animal moves off the screen and the system branches to a new animal scenario. He scores nothing. If he shoots, the Dart Sensor System, operating like a giant touchscreen, picks up the shot as soon as his arrow hits. The computer then pauses the video, and overlays a circular target outlining primary and secondary kill zones and showing the shooter the precise location of his shot.