Robots that play table tennis

Idea Lab : Researchers at China’s Zhejiang University in Hangzhou have built a pair of robots that can play table tennis. “Wu” and “Kong” stand some 5 feet tall, weigh 121 pounds, and have humanlike features such as arms, legs, eyes, ears, and hair. The robots use images from eye-mounted cameras to calculate the ball’s position, speed, and angle. Although the robots’ moves are basic so far, the experiment tests their reaction times and abilities, such as visual processing, identification, and calculation. The researchers emphasize that the ultimate goal of the project is not for robots to play games but rather to demonstrate some of the possibilities of robotic technology.