Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Developments in robots resembling human\ncapabilities are beginning to appear in countries like Japan and China.\nBoth nations have showcased their respective humanoid creations.<\/p>\n
In Japan, the ping-pong robot named Ace is said to be able to defeat\nhuman players. The project leader from Sony\u2019s AI research division, the\ndeveloper of Ace, stated that the robot is the first with competitive\nphysical sports capabilities.<\/p>\n
Reuters notes that ping-pong playing robots have actually existed\nsince 1983. However, this is the first time one has been able to beat\nhuman players.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnlike computer games, where previous AI systems have surpassed\nhuman experts, physical sports and real-time activities like table\ntennis remain a major unsolved challenge due to the requirements for\nfast, precise, and competitive interaction that approach human reaction\nlimits and barriers,\u201d said Peter Durr, director of Sony AI Zurich and\nproject leader, quoted from Reuters, Thursday (23\/4\/2026).<\/p>\n
Durr said this project is not just for competing in table tennis\ngames. It also aims to develop insights into robots that can sense,\nplan, and act with the speed and precision of humans.<\/p>\n
Ace has also undergone table tennis trials against humans. In a match\nin April 2025, the robot won three out of five games against an elite\nplayer.<\/p>\n
Ace\u2019s two losses were against professional players, who have the\nhighest level of expertise in table tennis.<\/p>\n
Ace successfully defeated a professional player in December 2025 and\nlast month.<\/p>\n
Running Robot in China<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, China has created a running robot. Hundreds of these\nrobots participated in a half-marathon race in Beijing in April.<\/p>\n
The result was that the robots outperformed human runners by more\nthan 10 minutes. The winner, a robot made by Honor, recorded a time of\n50 minutes and 26 seconds.<\/p>\n
The Honor robot was developed over a year. Team engineer Du Xiaodi\nexplained that the robot is equipped with 90-95 cm long legs and liquid\ncooling technology similar to that used in smartphones.<\/p>\n
\u201cRunning faster may not seem significant at first, but it enables\ntechnology transfer, for example, into structural reliability and\ncooling, and ultimately industrial applications,\u201d said Du.<\/p>\n
The development of these robots is also remarkable, considering that\nlast year\u2019s race was marred by various accidents and most robots could\nnot finish the race. The robots that did finish recorded a time of 2\nhours 40 minutes, or twice the time of the human winner in a\nconventional race.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/humans-are-already-being-replaced-evidence-emerges-in-china-and-japan-1777009991", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }