[CEATEC 2016] Over the past few years, Omron has shown off a robot called the Forpheus that can play a game of table tennis against a human. The first iteration was shown off in 2014, and we saw an upgraded version in 2015. Now it’s 2016 and the company is back with version 3.0, and it is better than ever.
The design of the robot still looks the same, at least at a glance, but according to the company, they have upgraded the sensors of the robot to make it more sensitive and faster than before. They have also made it more precise, giving it the ability to make returns at unpredictable angles. However one of the main changes they have made is the ability for the robot to change its skill levels mid-rally.
In last year’s model, players could pick from various difficulty levels, but in 2016, the robot can sense a player’s skill as they play, meaning that as you get better, its difficulty will increase to match the player’s skill. For example even experts need some time to warm up and get into the groove of things.
Now obviously such a tool would be useful to train one’s ping pong skills, but Omron envisions their technology being utilized in the factory to help automate tasks. Its ability to detect what humans do will allow it to determine what it can do to help, such as lifting heavy boxes, and so on.
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