Kung-fu, half-marathons and now ping-pong – it seems robots are getting closer and closer to human capabilities.
An artificial intelligence robot called Ace has managed to defeat three elite ping-pong players in tests developed by Sony AI.
The robot is fully autonomous and uses a combination of visual sensors, control systems, and fast hardware to react in real time during gameplay.
Released footage shows Ace winning three out of five matches against top-level players, using advanced strokes, including unusual spins and difficult returns of the ball touching the net.
However, the robot is still not at the level of true professionals, having lost both matches against Minami Ando and Kakeru Sone, active players in the Japanese professional league.
Sony AI director in Zurich and project leader Peter Dürr said the experiment shows that an autonomous robot can realistically compete in sports:
"Ping-pong is an extremely complex game that requires split-second decisions, speed, and strength. This result demonstrates the potential of physical artificial intelligence to perform real-time tasks in the real world."
According to Sony, robots have already shown "superhuman" performance in several fields such as long-distance running, chess and video games, but ping-pong remains one of the most difficult challenges due to the speed of the ball and its spins.
To achieve these results, Ace is equipped with three main systems: a rapid perception system, an advanced control system, and robotic devices with immediate response. These allow it to act almost like a human player.
In testing, the robot played against five elite players and two professionals, winning three matches and achieving a ball return percentage of 75%, as well as 16 “aces” (direct points won without reply).
However, he failed to win a single match against professionals.
Sony experts emphasize that this is the first time a robot has surpassed the amateur level in such a complex and dynamic sport.
According to lead scientist Peter Stone, this achievement goes beyond sports:
"It's a historic moment for artificial intelligence. It shows that AI systems can perceive, make decisions, and act in very fast and unpredictable real-world environments."
He adds that this development paves the way for new uses of robots in real-world situations where high speed and precision are required. /GazetaExpress/
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