JAPAN: RESEARCHERS INVENT A ROBOT THAT CAN BEAT ALMOST ANYONE IN A GAME OF AIR HOCKEY THANKS TO AN ARTIFICIAL EYE.

Record ID: 401984

  • Title: JAPAN: RESEARCHERS INVENT A ROBOT THAT CAN BEAT ALMOST ANYONE IN A GAME OF AIR HOCKEY THANKS TO AN ARTIFICIAL EYE.
  • Date: 5th March 2003
  • Summary: (W4) TOKYO, JAPAN (MARCH 5, 2003) (REUTERS) 1. WS: STUDENT PLAYING AIR HOCKEY WITH ROBOT. 0.05 2. SCU/ZOON IN/CU: ROBOT FLICKING THE PUCK. 0.12 3. SCU: CAMERA HIDDEN ON THE CEILING. 0.16 4. SCU: STUDENT SMILING. 0.22 5. WS: ROBOT SCORING. 0.29 6. SCU: (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) KUNIKATSU TAKASE, PROFESSOR AT JAPAN'S UNIV
  • Embargoed: 20th March 2003 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: TOKYO, JAPAN
  • Country: Japan
  • Reuters ID: LVA1MZQGI6W027B3AI1JXKOBO3HN
  • Story Text: Japanese researchers have invented a robot which prides
    itself in never losing to human air hockey players.



    A Japanese university professor has developed a robot
    which can beat almost anyone in a game of air hockey, thanks
    to a high-quality artificial eye.

    Air hockey pucks move so quickly, anyone who does well in
    the table sport has to have sharp vision and fast reflexes.

    The robot's success is due to a newly developed camera
    hidden inside the ceiling which has the capability of
    collecting four times as much visual information as a regular
    camera at four times the speed.

    The robot's computer analyses the data and calculates the
    position and direction of the puck as it moves across its
    field of vision, and returns it with a flick of its arm.

    Rather than the precision aspect of the robot, the makers
    said making the robot competitive was the most difficult
    aspect.

    "The speed was very important. But the robot cannot be too
    strong. The difficulty of developing it was in making the
    robot so it can amuse people," said Kunikatsu (pronounced
    KOO-HEE-KAH-TSOO) Takase(TAH-KAH-SEH), professor at Japan's
    University of Electro-Communications.

    The robot is not invincible, but in a recent test in which
    the robot played against 100 people of all ages, it won almost
    70 percent of the games.

    There are no plans at the moment to commercialise the
    robot.

    But perhaps in a few years time, air hockey lovers will be
    able to try their hand at a game against the machine.




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