Table-tennis-playing robot makes history by beating elite human players

Added: 2026-04-29

[00:00:01]Blink and you might miss it because you're human and that's a robot beating your kind in a pingpong rally. Meet Ace, an autonomous table tennis robot developed by Sony's artificial intelligence division. The Japanese tech giant says it's the first robot to beat elite human players in competitive physical sport. Here's another point slowed down. You can see the machine tracking the ball's 3D position and estimating its angular velocity and spin in real time. Its nine cameras around the court don't miss a beat.

[00:00:37]A study released this week in Nature details the bot's recent victories against some highly skilled and even professional players. Sony saying the breakthrough proves robotics can now handle rapid decision making, precise physical execution, and continuous adaptation to an unpredictable opponent.

[00:00:54]>> They did build hardware that allows it to move as quickly as it needs to. So, you're combining the ability to adjust for unpredictable events with hardware that lets it do it.

[00:01:05]>> Robots aren't new to table tennis.

[00:01:08]Google's deep mind getting a grip over the last few years. But to take on a player like Marty Supreme, Ace is evolving to the next level.

[00:01:16]>> You want to get physical like an ape?

[00:01:18]>> It was almost three decades ago when a computer first beat a reigning world champion in chess. Fast forward to this week. Humanoid robots outran flesh and blood in China's half marathon. But it's all bigger than sports. Companies racing to make robots for manufacturing, service work, and high-risk environments. Sony says ACE is a significant step toward creating robots with broader applications.

[00:01:44]>> This is not about Sony AI building a a table tennis competitor. It's about building robotics that can adjust to the real world in real time.

[00:01:54]>> The question now is less if robots can compete with us and more how far they'll go.

[00:02:02]>> And Emily joins us now to talk more about this. I guess the big question I have is what's the point? Why why do we need robots to compete against us in sports?

[00:02:10]>> I think the goal is that it's going to be applied in all of these other possible industries. And because the pace in which this technology is advancing, some experts say that they think the robots are going to be ready before we are mentally if you think about it. And so for that reason, we'll more likely see the robots kind of be put to use in things like retail, manufacturing before scenarios like helping with your household chores or with healthcare. Something that's really cool is if you if you look at even in the case of Ace, it improved its skills over a period of months, which really speaks to the speed in which it's learning. And one of the things is it can focus on the logo so accurately. It helps it understand the ball spin. So, if you're trying to do a trick shot of some sort and also the axis in which it is rotated on. And that Ryan >> Oh, yes. WE WHO NEEDS PADDLES?

[00:03:00]>> That wasn't even on TV. Do that again. I need credit for that. I need credit for that.

[00:03:05]>> Okay, take two. Take two. All right, here we go.

[00:03:08]>> I was like, it's going to hit me right in the face. That was pretty That was pretty good. You kind of looked like Ace there, right?

[00:03:13]>> You didn't put any spin on it or anything. Try spinning it this time.

[00:03:16]>> Okay. All right, let's see. You got to lock in just like Ace. Lock in.

[00:03:19]>> Ready?

[00:03:20]>> Oh, okay. Pretty good.

[00:03:21]>> Look at that. We're playing here without paddles here, but you know, we could see millions of robots according to some experts over the next just decades. So, things are moving at a rapid pace.

[00:03:32]>> Yeah. I you know I don't find anything interesting at all about watching a robot play a sport. But um I guess you know >> you and me both I think some people are like yes go ace >> right. Are you going to root for the robot over the human? You >> I think it's a little weird because right like there's no eye contact.

[00:03:48]There's no that's like kind of eerie, right?

[00:03:50]>> I guess the way I feel about it is if the if the human were a a representing a sports team from New England, so anything from Boston, I would probably root against it still as a Western New Yorker. All right. And then we're rooting for Ace. Got it.

[00:04:03]>> Thanks, Emily and Kada. We appreciate it.

[00:04:05]>> We thank you for watching and remember, stay updated on breaking news and top stories on the NBC News app or watch live on our YouTube channel.