14 DAY TRIAL // The Japanese have always been fascinated with robots, and they have a whole sub-culture centered around mecha, humongous or otherwise. Humanoid machines are just one small part of that though.
Case in point, the robot I'm going to show you now is as far from humanoid as such things can get. Some may go so far as to say it's not a robot at all.
Still, it's an automated, or at least party automated, piece of machinery that can move independently (to an extent anyhow, since its base needs to stay in the same spot) and respond to the environment.
Or, rather, respond to something very specific: a ping-pong ball. That's what the robot is all about: playing ping-pong.
The Japanese company Omron made the robot, and while it admits that it doesn't have professional-level skills, the company says the robot should still play well enough against normal, random people.
As for specs, the 2.7-meter / 8.9-foot tall robot has three legs and weighs 600 kilos / 1,323 pounds. It uses motion sensing technology to track the ball. The trajectory is calculated based on the position of the ball, the position of the bat and the position of the human opponent.
