As long as there has been science fiction, there’s been the rise of the machines narrative. You know how it goes- the robots will only increase in intelligence and capability, and then compete with (and in some cases surpass) their human creators.
When it comes to ping pong robots, the future is now. A table tennis robot is a contraption that can automatically fire balls from one end of the ping pong table to the other side in a controlled manner. You can even choose the type of shots and spins you want to practice against.
For instance, do you want to focus on playing balls with a lot of backspin, top spin, or side-spin? These are some factors to consider when looking at the best ping pong robot to buy. You need to look at how the machine adjusts the speed and frequency with which the balls are fired, and how much manipulation is possible given the array of settings available.
A table tennis robot can provide you the opportunity to practice without a human opponent, and you can play as long as what fits your schedule and desire. You’re not dependent on another person, and it’s a far superior option to what a lot of people do- folding the other half of the table up.
Having the opposite end of the ping pong table upright is a cheap, easy way to practice your table tennis, but it’s also limiting as to what kind of activities you can really do. A ping pong robot increases your capability to work on your service technique, your return and it can provide the kinds of rallies that are much facilitative to your development. The most advanced robots have artificial intelligence capabilities that can read the human’s skill level and then adjust accordingly.
In other words, the future is already here, but the next wave of ping pong robots will only be more advanced and sophisticated as technology continues to progress. And as Moore’s Law tells us, tech inevitably moves forward at a rapid pace; especially these days as A.I. continues advancing.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
You can follow Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com on Twitter here and his cat on Instagram at this link.