{"id":219974,"date":"2026-04-27T21:30:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T21:30:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/the-machines-have-already-outplayed-us-at-chess-and-go-now-they-are-set-to-defeat-us-at-something-even-harder-ping-pong\/"},"modified":"2026-04-27T21:30:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T21:30:14","slug":"the-machines-have-already-outplayed-us-at-chess-and-go-now-they-are-set-to-defeat-us-at-something-even-harder-ping-pong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/the-machines-have-already-outplayed-us-at-chess-and-go-now-they-are-set-to-defeat-us-at-something-even-harder-ping-pong\/","title":{"rendered":"The Machines Have Already Outplayed Us at Chess and Go; Now They Are Set to Defeat Us at Something Even Harder: Ping Pong"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The Evolution of Machines: From Chess to Ping Pong<\/h2>\n

Human beings have a curious relationship with machines: we create them to help us but also to challenge us. This relationship has evolved over decades, from large industrial systems to sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics. As these machines move into increasingly complex environments with less margin for error, we witness a transition: the challenge is now extending beyond intellectual games like chess and Go to physically demanding sports like ping pong.<\/p>\n

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The Robot That Plays Ping Pong<\/h3>\n

The latest development in this technological evolution comes from Sony AI with its innovative Ace robot<\/a>, the first AI system designed to compete against elite players in real physical environments under official rules. This was recently showcased in Tokyo, where professional player Taira Mayuka launched a decisive shot. In an impressive display, Ace read the ball’s trajectory, adjusted its paddle angle, and returned the ball, extending the exchange.<\/p>\n

A Notable Jump<\/h3>\n

Ping pong presents a significantly more demanding challenge than chess or Go due to the rapid movement of the ball, which can spin, bounce, and change direction in an instant. As highlighted by Sony, Ace’s reaction speed is remarkable, achieving an end-to-end latency of just 20.2 milliseconds compared to approximately 230 milliseconds for elite human players. This means Ace not only \u201csees\u201d the ball but also anticipates the next move and gets the paddle in position before it’s too late.<\/p>\n

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The Technology Behind Ace<\/h3>\n

The success of Ace relies on a sophisticated integration of technologies, ensuring a seamless connection between perception, control, and movement. It employs nine synchronized conventional cameras along with three event-based vision systems, capable of capturing rapid motion changes. This allows Ace to track the ball at 200 Hz with millimeter precision, measuring effects up to 700 Hz. An eight-degree-of-freedom robotic arm executes returns based on policies learned through reinforcement learning in simulation.<\/p>\n

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The Journey to Expert Level<\/h3>\n

Ace’s development did not occur overnight. The project began in 2020 as part of Sony AI’s initial efforts, evolving through various stages: from juggling the ball to maintaining cooperative exchanges with a human partner, and ultimately competing against progressively stronger players. This timeline helped to uncover limitations that might not be visible in a controlled simulation.<\/p>\n

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The Limits of Ace<\/h3>\n

While Ace has reached an impressive level of expertise, it has not completely solved the complexities of table tennis. Sony acknowledges that there are still superior human players. The robot excels primarily in skill, focusing on how to move and hit the ball in real-time situations. However, aspects like point-to-point play and match strategies are areas where it can still improve.<\/p>\n

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Images source: Sony AI (1<\/a>, 2<\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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General News – 2<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Evolution of Machines: From Chess to Ping Pong Human beings have a curious relationship with machines: we create them to help us but also to challenge us. This relationship has evolved over decades, from large industrial systems to sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics. As these machines move into increasingly complex environments with less […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":219975,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36399],"tags":[5614,7430,4414,6437,11499,51702,51703,1428],"class_list":["post-219974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-chess","tag-defeat","tag-harder","tag-machines","tag-outplayed","tag-ping","tag-pong","tag-set"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219974","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=219974"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219974\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":219976,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219974\/revisions\/219976"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/219975"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=219974"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=219974"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=219974"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}