This achievement represents a milestone for the world of robotics, a field that has long considered the sport, one of the most technical in the world, one of the toughest tests of technological progress.
robot player
We have already seen artificial intelligence systems winning virtual competitions in chess, Go and even sports starcraft iiBut physical sports are much more difficult to master. A robot needs to sense unexpected changes in the external environment, interpret their meaning, decide how to react, and then take the necessary action, all in a very short period of time.
Ace, a very complex robot composed of three main parts, has managed to do exactly that. It is equipped with a perception system that allows it to detect the rotation of the ball, which can change its bounce and trajectory in the air, and an artificial intelligence system that can make decisions in real time. Finally, it has high-speed robotic hardware: an eight-jointed, extremely agile robotic arm that can make precise and quick decisions about where and how to place the racket.
To test Ace, the researchers had the robot compete against five high-level amateur players, resulting in wins in three of the five matches. Against two professional players from the Japanese League, Minami Endo and Kakeru Son, however, the ace’s skills were not as effective, winning only one match out of seven. Ace’s post-match analysis showed that the robot scored points not by hitting hard, but by its control ability, successfully knocking out 75 percent of the balls.
“This research shows that an autonomous robot can indeed win in a sports competition, equaling or exceeding the reaction time and decision-making ability of humans in physical space,” Peter Durr, director of Sony AI and project leader on ACE, said in a press release.
beyond table tennis
ACE’s demonstration represents a breakthrough in the field of robotics. It is a system that combines high-speed sensing, artificial intelligence for decision making, and robotic control to compete with human players in real-world conditions, allowing extremely fast reactions in real time.
“Table tennis is a game of extreme complexity that requires quick decisions as well as speed and power,” says Durr. Robots like Ace can provide a way to learn new techniques and skills to improve player performance in many other areas.
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