Forpheus, table tennis robot, OMRON Corporation, Kyoto, Japan


Omron’s table tennis robot built to rally

Published on Oct 7, 2014

Omron Corp. is inviting visitors to CEATEC 2014 to play ping-pong with its robot equipped with the company’s sensing and control technologies. Rather than beating its opponent, the robot is designed to sustain long rallies.
 

Ping Pong Robot at Omron Automation Lab

Published on Oct 9, 2014

Is this seriously cool or what? You can play ping pong against this robot, with it's dual vision systems, anticipation algorithms, self balancing algorithms, it's able to play back the ping pong ball to you no matter where you play it on the table. Perhaps with training, with some tuning of the anticipation of effects slicing and lifting in the ball, soon enough this robot may be able to beat even the best ping pong players in the world?
 

Improved Ping Pong robot wins against me!

Published on Oct 11, 2015

I loose against the Omron robot in pong pong. They are tuning and improving it, while claiming that this is to show Robots collaboration with humans, they focus on trying to see all slices and lifts and to beat real champions next. Omron also shows some of their other smart sensors, mechanics, for wearables, smart home, self-driving cars and more.
 

Smash hit: Ping pong robot takes on Olympian at Tokyo tech fair

Published on Oct 4, 2017

Smash hit: Ping pong robot takes on Olympian at Tokyo tech fair.
A ping-pong-playing robot served up a hit at a top Tokyo tech fair Monday, while a barely-moving machine in the shape of a sloth aimed to provide a relaxing change of pace.

The alien-looking table-tennis star, named FORPHEUS, had a tough opponent, in the shape of Japan's first-ever Olympic singles medal-winner in a man-versus-machine clash.
Technicians have worked on FORPHEUS's robotics and artificial intelligence technology and had hoped it would be able to return a smash from the Olympian, Jun Mizutani.
"This machine now has the ability to react to a smash by observing the other player's movement," said Masayuki Koizumi in charge of sensing technology research at Omron, the robot's creator.
"We hope people with advanced ping pong skills will play with the machine," he said.
But Mizutani appeared to have little reason to hang up his bat yet, as the robot failed to retrieve his attacking shot.
"One day it might hit back," Mizutani, 28, said after the match.
Omron also showcased a new sensor that can detect whether a driver is concentrating or dozing off in a self-driving car.
The company aims to commercialise its technology by 2020, it said at the Cutting-Edge IT & Electronics Comprehensive Exhibition (CEATEC) near Tokyo.
'Slow robots'
Meanwhile, a new Tokyo start-up aims to help budding gymnasts and ballet dancers with a mirror that streams the movements of professional athletes.
Using the augmented reality (AR) technology, would-be prima ballerinas can imitate the correct techniques when practising in front of the mirror by following the images of real experts.
"You can consider it as a cyber coach," said Fujio Tamaki, founder of FunLife start-up, after demonstrating a pirouette by watching the teacher's moves in the mirror.
"We hope we can provide professional skills that are not easy to access for the wider public—such as kids in remote areas," he said.
But such professional coaching does not come cheap—the firm is renting the product for some 200,000 yen ($1,780) a month.
For robot fans wanting a change of pace, toy maker Bandai showcased its new creation called "Norobo"—a combination of the words "noro" (slow) and "robot"— which comes in the shape of a panda or a sloth.
A Norobo hangs from its arms on a tree-like bar, moving only 12 centimetres in eight hours.
"Nowadays, technologies are too advanced and we're stressed out by using them," said Bandai's general manager Shingo Watanabe.
"So why not create the world of slow robots?"
Users can look at the sloth-like robot and just relax, he explained.
The CEATEC, which exhibits the latest in consumer technology from nearly 670 firms, is open to the public from Tuesday to Friday.
 

I played Ping Pong against a robot

Published on Jan 8, 2018

TechCrunch's Tito Hamze played Ping Pong against Omron's demonstration Ping Pong Robot. The Robot was good but no match for Tito's charm and good looks.
 

Ping-pong playing robot vs human

Published on Jan 10, 2018

Omron’s ping-pong playing robot Forpheus uses AI to judge its opponent’s skill level and adjusts its own playing level to match it. It flashes inspiring messages on the LED screen on its net, so it’s just like playing with a nice, encouraging friend who’s really good at table tennis.
 

Human vs. robot: Ping-pong match against Forpheus

Published on Jan 11, 2018

At CES 2018 in Las Vegas, we faced off with Omron's Forpheus, a robot that learns from your every move and expression, and plays harder as you get better.
 

5th Generation FORPHEUS

Published on Dec 13, 2018

FORPHEUS represents the latest evolution of OMRON's artificial intelligence and robotics technology. Experience how these come together to enhance and extend human capabilities.

Improved vision follows the ball and player (sensing), and an improved robot mechanism (control) enhances its ability to play and coach table tennis.
 
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