AI Table Tennis Robot Can Beat ‘Elite’ Players, Says Sony

The string tensioner on the racket of Germany’s Laura Siegemund is pictured as she prepares to serve to Belarus’s Aryna Sabalenka during their women’s singles quarter-final tennis match on the ninth day of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 8, 2025. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE   Robots can run a half-marathon, box, and now beat elite human table tennis players, Sony’s artificial intelligence unit said in research published Thursday. Advertisement googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display("div-gpt-ad-1672569656851-0"); }); A team from the Japanese company built an AI-powered robotic arm clutching a ping-pong paddle that can perceive, react to, and return the “blistering speed and spin of elite-level table tennis”. The research was published in the journal Nature. “Ace” is a bulky industrial robot as big as a table tennis table but is able to make split-second decisions and execute agile movements with power, according to Sony AI. The noisy player, characterised by constant whirrs, rattles, and a vigorously moving arm, faced five elite players and two professionals. Advertisement googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display("div-gpt-ad-1672569913499-0"); }); It won three out of five matches against the elite group, while other matches were “competitive”, the company said. But Ace continued to improve its performance even after the paper was submitted to Nature, winning more recent matches against professionals with higher shot speeds, more aggressive placement closer to the table edge, and faster-paced rallies, Sony AI said. “By solving a problem that requires exceptional real-time sensing and control, this research lays the groundwork for AI systems that can safely and reliably operate in dynamic physical environments, ranging from safety-critical settings to real-time interactive domains,” it said. Previous table tennis-playing robots could hold rallies but never went beyond the amateur level, Sony AI said. Advertisement googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display("div-gpt-ad-1672587799169-0"); }); “Once AI can operate at an expert human level under these conditions, it opens the door to an entirely new class of real-world applications that were previously out of reach,” said Peter Stone, chief scientist at Sony AI. AFP Join Our Whatsapp Channel To join: Simply click on the link below & turn on notifications to get the latest updates Subscribe to Our Newsletter In This Article: AI Robots tennis More Stories Google Unveils Latest Chips For Powering AI Microsoft Unveils ‘Largest-Ever’ Investment In Australia Humans Far Behind As Robot Breaks Record At Beijing Half Marathon /* * * CONFIGURATION VARIABLES: EDIT BEFORE PASTING INTO YOUR WEBPAGE * * / var disqus_shortname = 'channelstelevision'; // Required - Replace example with your forum shortname / * * DON'T EDIT BELOW THIS LINE * * */ (function() { var dsq = document.createElement('script'); dsq.type = 'text/javascript'; dsq.async = true; dsq.src = '//' + disqus_shortname + '.disqus.com/embed.js'; (document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0] || document.getElementsByTagName('body')[0]).appendChild(dsq); })(); Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.

SOURCE: https://www.channelstv.com/2026/04/23/ai-table-tennis-robot-can-beat-elite-players-says-sony/