Omron, a company that specializes in automated and electro-mechanical technologies for industrial settings, has developed something truly unique in the form of the FORPHEUS, a third-generation table tennis robot that is designed to be your opponent as well as your teacher.
This high-tech robot is fitted with an array of sensors that allow it to monitor and analyze its opponents' play. Unlike human opponents whose only aim is to hit the ball where you can't reach it, the merciful FORPHEUS actually changes its skill level to match yours. This means that it tries to keep the rally going for as long as possible to help you improve, but also upgrades its difficulty level when it detects improvements in your own performance.
The aim of developing this table tennis robot has less to do with increasing the global standard of table tennis and more to do with exploring the use of automated robots' analytical technologies to improve human performance in industrial settings.
Table Tennis-Teaching Robots
The FORPHEUS Table Tennis Robot Can Analyze and Improve Your Game
Trend Themes
1. Automated Sports Coaching - Developing robots with advanced sensors that analyze and improve human performance in sports settings presents disruptive innovation opportunities in the sports industry.
2. Adaptive Robotics - Creating robots with the capability to adapt their skill level based on the user's level of performance presents disruptive innovation opportunities in the robotics industry.
3. Human-robot Interaction - Exploring the possibilities of human-robot interaction beyond industrial settings through sports coaching presents disruptive innovation opportunities in the robotic and sports industries.
Industry Implications
1. Sports - Automated coaching technology, such as the FORPHEUS table tennis robot, has the potential to revolutionize training and performance analysis in sports.
2. Robotics - Advanced sensors and adaptable skill-level technology, as demonstrated by the FORPHEUS table tennis robot, have potential applications in industries beyond just sports.
3. Industrial Automation - The development of advanced sensors and adaptable skill-level technology for sports coaching could have transformative applications in industrial automation and beyond.