Sony’s new AI robot could probably beat you at table tennis

Wednesday, Sony I announced it ACE ProjectIt is an autonomous robot capable of competing with professional table tennis players. Sony says this achievement demonstrates that AI systems have achieved human-like, expert-level performance in competitive sports in the physical world.

While the world is currently focusing on Amnesty International agent Madness – Allow AI agents to perform tasks for you – Physical artificial intelligence Right on his heels. The presence of a human-like robot Fold your laundry This is just the beginning, and Sony’s announcement shows that physical AI can outperform humans in some cases.

“Table tennis is a highly complex game that requires split-second decisions as well as speed and power,” Peter Doerr, Sony AI director and head of the Ace Project, said in the press release.

Ace uses advanced sensory technology, reinforcement learning and precision hardware to play table tennis. The robot has nine active pixel-sensing cameras so it can determine the position of the ball in 3D space. There are also additional cameras and systems to help it measure ball speed and spin.

Outside of the visual part, Ace also has a control system based on model-free reinforcement learning that enables it to adapt and make decisions without a pre-programmed model. Combine this with the high-speed robotic hardware to play the game, and the robot is as much a piece of art as it is a device.

The ace was tested against five elite table tennis players and two professional table tennis players, and has won three of the five matches against elite players overall. He also scored sixteen points directly while serving, compared to eight elite players.

Ace is more than just a proof of concept, it’s a glimpse into the future of physical AI. “Once AI can function 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,” Peter Stone, Sony’s chief scientist for AI, said in the company’s press release.

Sony did not immediately respond to a request for further comment.