China is currently busy accumulating most of the gold medals in the table tennis events in the Paris Olympics.
Meanwhile, anAI-powered robot from Google DeepMind has achieved amateur human level performance in the sport.
It won 100% of matches against beginner and 55% against intermediate players.

However, it lost every single time that it faced an advanced opponent.
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Indeed, its non-robot competitors in the demonstration videos do seem to be enjoying themselves.

The worlds first robot table tennis tutor was acknowledged by Guinness World Records in 2017.
The rather imposing machine was developed by Japanese electronics company OMRON.
OMRON says it embodies the relationship that will exist between humans and technology in the future.
We do however feel that DeepMinds robotic arm is severely lacking in the abbreviation department.
Story byLinnea Ahlgren
Linnea is the senior editor at TNW, having joined in April 2023.
Dabbles in gaming and fitness wearables.
But first, coffee.