A table tennis-playing robot served up a hit at a top tech fair Monday, while a barely-moving machine in the shape of a sloth aimed to provide a relaxing change of pace. The alien-looking table-tennis star, named FORPHEUS, had a tough opponent…
A table tennis-playing robot served up a hit at a top tech fair Monday, while a barely-moving machine in the shape of a sloth aimed to provide a relaxing change of pace.
The alien-looking table-tennis star, named FORPHEUS, had a tough opponent, in the shape of Japan’s first-ever Olympic singles medal-winner in a man-versus-machine clash.
Technicians have worked on FORPHEUS’s robotics and artificial intelligence technology and had hoped it would be able to return a smash from the Olympian, Jun Mizutani.
« This machine now has the ability to react to a smash by observing the other player’s movement, » said Masayuki Koizumi in charge of sensing technology research at Omron, the robot’s creator.
« We hope people with advanced table tennis skills will play with the machine, » he said.
But Mizutani appeared to have little reason to hang up his bat yet, as the robot failed to retrieve his attacking shot.
« One day it might hit back, » Mizutani, 28, said after the match.
Omron also showcased a new censor that can detect whether a driver is concentrating or dozing off in a self-driving car.
