Robots might not be in line to take over the world from us humans (yet), but this does not mean that they are not biding their time. After all, robots have certainly helped us out in the industrialization of the nations. Just take a stroll through any high tech factory, and you will see how robots have made life a whole lot more efficient in the manufacturing process. How about in the world of sports?
Robots are still far from edging out a human especially in team sports, but in a one-on-one face off like a game of ping pong, humans might have met their match. We do know that Timo Boll would be going bat-to-bat against the KUKA robot real soon, but with the one handed Ulf Hoffman Tischtennis Roboter (Ulf Hoffman Table Tennis Robot), or UHTTR-1 for short, do ordinary people like you and me who play ping pong recreationally stand a chance?
Watch the YouTube video above and arrive at your own conclusion. The robot’s arm will be rail mounted at one of the ends of a ping pong table. Being made out of aluminum, it is light enough for its servos to send it scurrying across the length of the table, but with a quartet of cameras at its disposal, it can keep track of where the ball is, and where it should go with its return. Hopefully it will not tweet its victories over its human opponents…