If you’re interested in learning how to play table tennis, a robot in Japan is up for the coaching job, and the bot has even earned a Guinness World Record for its tutoring skills.
The robot, called FORPHEUS, was named the “first robot table tennis tutor” for its ability to play and teach the sport. Guinness World Record officials said
the robot’s “unique technological intelligence and educational capabilities” earned it
the title. The record-breaking robot uses vision and motion sensors to track a match, with cameras following the ball 80 times per second.
Beyond game play, the cameras also help FORPHEUS in its role as a teacher, according to its developers. The robot can project an image of where the ball will land to help a competitor or student. Algorithms and artificial intelligence also allow FORPHEUS to rate players, assessing their gameplay to better tailor the lessons.
However, Japanese electronics company Omron Corp. developed FORPHEUS not only to teach the game of table tennis, but to help “harmonize” the human-robot relationship, lead developer Taku Oya told the Guinness World Records.
“At the moment it is a human who teaches a robot how to behave or teach,” Taku said in a statement. “But in the next 20 years it may be possible that a robot teaches a robot or a robot develops a robot.”