A paddle-wielding robot is so adept at playing table tennis that it is posing a tough challenge to elite human players and sometimes defeating them, according to a new study in the journal Nature that shows how advances in artificial intelligence are making robots more agile.

BEIJING — It was not even close as a bright red Chinese humanoid named “Lightning” lived up to its name in a half-marathon pitting humans against robots, smoking its competition on Sunday

Sony AI’s Ace robot can now compete with and sometimes beat elite table tennis players, a milestone for real-world robotics and fast physical AI.

By Will Dunham April 22 (Reuters) - An autonomous robot ping-pong player dubbed Ace has achieved a milestone for AI and robotics in Tokyo by competing against and sometimes defeating top-level human players at table tennis,

You thought you understood the boundaries of human achievement. You believed certain domains were sacred, untouched by silicon and steel. You were wrong. Humanoid robots just performed ancient kung fu,

U.S. humanoid startups are being priced as wide-reaching artificial intelligence platforms, while Chinese ones are seen more as industrial hardware plays, said Rui Ma, founder of Tech Buzz China, which regularly brings U.S. investors to visit Chinese startups.

Walker S2 is an adult-sized humanoid robot with legs, a torso, and arms. China is sending these robots to patrol their border with Vietnam.

Millions spent on humanoid robots depend on gig workers recording daily tasks, signaling a shift in AI training and work.