Table tennis robot defeats some of world's best players - why this has major implications for robotics A table tennis robot has outperformed elite players in recent evaluations. The robot, called Ace, marks a significant step toward artificial intelligence (AI) systems that can operate in fast, uncertain, real-world environments. In the tests, the autonomous robot won three out of five matches against elite players - competitive athletes with over ten years' experience and an average of 20 hours weekly training. The robot, developed by Sony AI, lost both matches against players in professional Japanese leagues, but did win a game against one of them. The system is described in detail in a recent paper published in Nature .

In an article published today in Nature, Sony AI introduce Ace, the first robot to beat elite human players in competitive physical sport. Although AI systems have shown advanced performance in digital domains and board games (such as complex video games, chess and Go), translating this to physical performance has remained a significant challenge. Such a feat requires perception, planning, and control to work in a high-speed domain on the scale of milliseconds. Table tennis is a demanding and complex real-world test for robotics, requiring rapid decision-making, precise physical execution, and continuous adaptation to an unpredictable opponent. The ball's high speed, spin, and complex trajectories are central to competitive play.

In feat hailed as milestone in robotics, Sony AI's Ace wins three out of five matches played under official rules An AI-powered robot has beaten elite players at table tennis in a significant achievement for a machine faced with human athletes in a real-world competitive sport. Named Ace, the robotic system developed by Sony AI, won three out of five matches against elite players, but lost the two it played against professionals, clawing back only one game in the seven contests. The feat has been hailed as a milestone for robotics, a field that has long seen table tennis - and the lightning-fast reactions, perception and skill it demands - as one of the toughest tests of how far the technology has advanced. In the matches, played under official competition rules, Ace displayed a mastery of spin, handled difficult shots, such as balls catching on the net, and pulled off one rapid backspin shot that a professional had thought impossible. A research paper on the robot was published in Nature on Wednesday, but scientists working on the project said Ace had improved since the report was submitted.

From Kevin Keegan to David Beckham and Michael Owen, many prolific footballers have won themselves simple-minded reputations as well as trophies. But scientists say elite football stars are actually'super-clever individuals'. 'Footballers often do not pursue higher education, such as university degrees, because their focus and interests lie elsewhere – primarily in their sport,' Professor Leonardo Bonetti, study author at Aarhus University in Denmark, told MailOnline. 'While this may mean they are less knowledgeable in certain academic areas, it does not reflect a lack of intelligence. 'Unfortunately, people often confuse being less formally educated with being less clever, which perpetuates this unfair stereotype.' Famously, former striker and England manager Keegan once said of Argentina: 'They're the second-best team in the world, and there's no higher praise than that.' Meanwhile, Beckham memorably commented after the birth of his eldest son: 'I want Brooklyn to be christened, but I don't know into what religion.'