Omron’s Forpheus officially recognized by Guinness World Records for being the “first robot table tennis tutor,” Omron’s latest version of its robot is a whiz with the bat, able to comfortably keep a rally going with its human opponent.
Project lead Taku Oya explains that the robot uses two vision sensors and one motion sensor. “The vision sensors identify the movement of the ball, and the motion sensor identifies the movement of the opponent. It also uses a controller that can analyze speed at one thousand times a second. By using these different sensors, it’s able to judge the skill level of the player.”
A fun feature that helped the setup earn its “tutor” label is the LED screen on the table’s net that shows messages of encouragement between points, while also counting the number of shots in a rally.
