Yesterday, German table tennis champion Timo Boll faced off Agilus robot. This might be the first time in the history where a table tennis champion played a game against a robot. Although, the champion won the game, but it was tough for him. Don’t believe?
Germany’s table tennis champion Timo Boll is currently ranked no.8 in the world rankings. He is a left-handed player whose best weapon is his forehand topspin drive. Boll is also noted for his extremely quick backhand loop. He is also a new “brand ambassador” for KUKA Robotics in China.
On the other side, KUKA Robotics has created ping-pong playing robot Agilus, which the company claims is the fastest robot in the world, and it can play table tennis very well. The specialty of Agilus is it can move very fast and has the ability to repeatedly hit a desired spot within a millimeter of accuracy.
However, in order to show the world the competence level of the robot, KUKA organized a table tennis match between Agilus and Timo Boll. The match took place yesterday (March 11). In that match although Boll defeated Agilus, but the frankly chilling speed, accuracy and versatility of the robot makes it a tough match for Boll to win. The champion finally scored 11, while the robot scored 9. People were able to watch this exciting match online. If you missed the match, here’s a video for you.
Thanks To: Techcrunch
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