No, this Isn't the Tokyo Game Show. OMRON, the Alleged Company behind Amazon Fire's Face-Tracking Feature, Exhibited its Ping-Pong Robot at CEATEC just to Demonstrate its Automation Prowess. Well, by Robot we Don't Mean the Humanoid Kind; it's More of a Large Silver Crane that Swings a Bat with 3 Arms. It Even has a Stationary Head that Looks Down upon its Human Challenger (including this Author, as Shown in the Video, After the Break); that's Where All the Sensors are Stored in Order to Track the Player and the Ball. The Brain, on the Other Hand, is Tucked into a Cabinet Next to the Robot. For the Sake of Harmony between Man and Machine, OMRON actually Lowered the Robot's Performance in Order to Let the Humans Win Once in a While. Apparently the Robot's Strikes Would be Too Fast if Running at Full Capacity.
Still, I was Quite Surprised by my Metallic Friend's Speedy Response to my Volleys -- it was as if I was Playing a Casual Game with Another Human, especially with the Way it Flipped the Bat between Left and Right Sides. The Prototype did Have One Physical Disadvantage, though: the Arms Weren't Long Enough to Reach the Middle of the Table so, I Had to Hit the Ball a Bit Further to Keep the Game Going -- we Managed 15 Continuous Volleys at Best (and Most Importantly, I Came Out in One Piece Afterwards). While OMRON has No Plans to Commercialize this Amusing Machine, we Can See How it Could be Repurposed for More Practical Tasks under Constantly-Changing Conditions. According to Forbes' Michael Kanellos, this Could Make a More Sophisticated "Pick and Place" Robot that Can Quickly Adapt to Different Production Lines. And When No One's Looking, it Can Go Back to Playing Ping-Pong with Fellow Robots.
Info Sources:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelkanellos/2014/10/07/ping-pong-playing-robot-to-seek-factory-job
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