AI robot Ace defeats elite Table Tennis players

An AI-powered robot named Ace, developed by Sony AI, has defeated elite table tennis players in a major robotics milestone. 

Ace won three out of five matches against elite opponents but lost two matches against professionals. In matches played under official rules, the robot demonstrated mastery of spin and high-speed reactions. 

A research paper on the project was published in Nature on Wednesday. Peter Dürr, director of Sony AI in Zurich, noted that the system has continued to improve since the study was submitted. “We played stronger and stronger players and we beat stronger and stronger players,” said Dürr.

Ace uses an eight-jointed arm and multiple cameras to track the ball's position and spin.