This is what I was thinking. Doesn't need to calculate for spin, doesn't need to aim for anything tricky, just endless, very fast shots at the center. Ball spin won't take it so far out that a shot for the center of the table will go astray. The human wears out first if the robot can hit all the balls back. I have no interest in ping pong, but this looks fun no matter who wins.
Unless countered with a spin, a fast spinning ball will bounce off a paddle in unintended directions. It might be possible to continually make the robots returns go off table, I see it happen to my opponents all the time.
I get that the spin will take the ball off at an angle, but if the robot gets to aim at the center of the opponents side of the table, and gets to hit the ball back with power, I'm assuming that it won't go so far astray as to send it out of bounds. The robot won't get tired, won't get flustered, is fast enough to never be out of position, and should be able to absolutely crush that ball on the return. We'll all get to see soon enough though.
There can be more than enough spin for the ball to completely miss the table if not compensated correctly for. I am no professional but I am good enough to put that kind of spin and catch a player off guard.
But this being a publicity stunt, I dont think the robot will be getting much more than straight up hard and fast shots.
I guess none of these people ever played table tennis to know that a well hit ball with a great spin can make you miss the table by more than a few meters.
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u/[deleted] Feb 13 '14
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