As somewhat of a table tennis nerd, I really like this, but also cannot help to throw in some critical observations :-)
I've skimmed through the match highlights video, and it struck me that there wasn't really any engagement with spin.
You can hear from the relatively high pitch of the ball contact that these were rubbers with very thin sponges or no sponge at all, and likely not enough grip to cause any real rotation on the ball.
Even in the lowest leagues (here in Germany, at least), people use backspin to prevent attacks, and varying the spin is half the game.
Also, human players often have different rubbers on the forehand and backhand sides, which is why rules demand that both rubbers have very distinct colors. Using black rubbers on both sides kinda demonstrates their non-engagement with spin.
That said, kudos for making a robot that people enjoy playing with. That's not a given. Players anticipate the trajectory of the ball based on the opponent's body movement, which a robot could totally subvert.
Physical limitations also play a real role in table tennis, for example the forehand flick is much harder to play than the backhand flick due to the way our hand joint works. A robot wouldn't be subjected this particular limitation.
I've skimmed through the match highlights video, and it struck me that there wasn't really any engagement with spin.
You can hear from the relatively high pitch of the ball contact that these were rubbers with very thin sponges or no sponge at all, and likely not enough grip to cause any real rotation on the ball.
Even in the lowest leagues (here in Germany, at least), people use backspin to prevent attacks, and varying the spin is half the game.
Also, human players often have different rubbers on the forehand and backhand sides, which is why rules demand that both rubbers have very distinct colors. Using black rubbers on both sides kinda demonstrates their non-engagement with spin.
That said, kudos for making a robot that people enjoy playing with. That's not a given. Players anticipate the trajectory of the ball based on the opponent's body movement, which a robot could totally subvert.
Physical limitations also play a real role in table tennis, for example the forehand flick is much harder to play than the backhand flick due to the way our hand joint works. A robot wouldn't be subjected this particular limitation.