Japanese AI robot beats professional table tennis players for the first time

A robot named Ace, created by the artificial intelligence (AI) research unit of the Japanese company Sony, became the first robot to reach a professional level in a complex coordination sport — table tennis. This was reported on April 23 by The Japan Times newspaper with reference to the published research results.

"Since 1983, there have been various robots playing table tennis, but until now they could not compete with highly skilled human players. Ace changed the situation thanks to his performances against elite and professional human players in matches conducted according to the rules of the International Table Tennis Federation and under the supervision of licensed referees," the article says.

It is noted that during the development in April 2025, Ace won three out of five matches against elite players and lost two matches against professionals representing the highest level of skill in this sport. Since then, Ace has beaten professional players in December 2025 and March this year.

The Ace robot is a special robotic platform. He has eight joints, which are necessary for executing punches. According to the players who lost to Ace, his strengths are that his actions are very difficult to predict, and he does not show emotions.

Station of destination: Russian scientists will send robots to explore space

How nuclear reactors will help our country maintain its position in the new moon race

In Beijing, on April 19, the Chinese robot "Lightning" won the humanoid robot half marathon with a clean time of 50 minutes and 26 seconds. The android of the Qi Tian Dasheng team surpassed the world record of 57 minutes and 20 seconds, which was set by Ugandan athlete, middle— and long-distance runner Jacob Kiplimo in March this year.