Brian Lederer, Amateur Robotics Enthusiast, isn’t sure if he should consider this amateur robotics… or a robot who could break into the amateur table tennis league! Check out HITTER: the Humanoid Table Tennis Robot, developed by UC Berkeley. It might be a better ping pong player than Lederer.. And possibly even better than you!
Robotics updates often feel overhyped these days. When there’s a “new thing” every week, the excitement well runs dry… But today, there’s a full on flood, because Brian Lederer is completely taken away by HITTER — the latest ping pong player who happens to be a humanoid robot with one purpose: to dominate in table tennis. And he’s already doing it!
HITTER: Humanoid Table Tennis Robot
HITTER is the Humanoid Table Tennis Robot from UC Berkeley’s FHL Vive Center. In a recent demo, this agile robot volleyed real ping pong rallies against human players, showcasing not just technical precision but surprisingly natural, human-like motion. What makes HITTER stand out is its remarkable coordination. Using a dual-system design, one component predicts where the ball will land, while another executes the movement in real time. Through reinforcement learning and countless training sessions, it has learned to adapt mid-rally — returning smashes and maintaining balance like a seasoned player.
HITTER’s success lies not in the robot itself but in the human innovation behind it. The research team achieved a stunning 106-shot rally between robot and human — proof that robotics is edging even closer to mimicking the grace and intuition of human athletes. It’s an exciting glimpse into a future where humanoid robots don’t just move — but play — with us.
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