This could have been so much more. What begins as an entertaining, legitimately interesting premise of man versus machine in a game of table tennis is ultimately just a glorified commercial, though there is still very cool technology on display.
It was announced last month that table tennis star Timo Boll, once ranked number one in the world, would be taking on German robotics company Kuka's Agilus robot in a game of ping pong. It was a stage that could have really tested how far we've come in robotics technology and how human conditioning would stand up to a calculating machine.
Now that it's arrived, the actual video is clearly just a disappointing promotion for Kuka. The robot is actually playing (which is cool, and interesting on its own), but it's staged, highly edited footage of a "match" between the two. Boll is surprised to find himself down points early to the cutting-edge prowess of the machine, and then realizes he has the mental strength and physical ability to make a comeback.
Agilus itself, as I said, is very interesting and impressive, it reads and reacts to the ball, turns its robotic arm at the best angle, and shoots into difficult positions. But it's obvious Boll is not trying while losing, goofily stumbling away when he misses and placing easy to reach shots that I could probably return (and make no mistake, I'm terrible).
It's in slow motion more often than not, and we see more close-ups of the ball or Boll than we do actual volleys between the contestants. This is no real match or test of our robotics technology-just a commercial.
It's a real shame, because it would have been interesting to see a true man versus machine scenario to see how the robot stacked up, but I suppose we'll have to wait. Check out the "game" below, which still does features an awesome functional robot.
Source: The Verge
