A machine called FORPHEUS has earned a Guinness World Record for its ability to play table tennis and even teach humans the game.
FORPHEUS is being referred to as the first robot table tennis tutor, as it has the capability to hold a ping pong paddle while playing against a person and teaching them all at the same time, according to Fox News.
The machine — developed at Omron Corporation — contains two vision sensors that enable the robot to keep track of the ball and the opponent’s movement.
“Omron’s mission is a future where humans and machines harmonize together,” Tako Oya, the machine’s lead developer, said in a video, according to Fox News. “So to achieve this we produced a robot that can play table tennis.”
The robot is also capable of sharing words of encouragement to its opponents, as it can be heard saying things like “Good job! Hang in there!”
Guinness World Record officials said the robot earned its name due to its “unique technological intelligence and educational capabilities,” Live Science noted.
According to Live Science, not only do the machines’ cameras track the movement of the ping pong ball at 80 times per second, but the cameras can also project the image of the ball’s landing spot on the ping pong table.
That, in turn, helps the opponent to learn and get better while playing.
The artificial intelligence used by the robot is capable of rating players as well.
“At the moment it is a human who teaches a robot how to behave or teach, but in the next 20 years it may be possible that a robot teaches a robot or a robot develops a robot,” Taku added in the video, according to Fox News.
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