Overview
- Ace, detailed in a Nature paper Wednesday, won several lab matches under official rules against top Japanese players.
- The system uses twelve high‑speed cameras to read ball speed and spin and drives an eight‑joint robot arm to strike and return shots.
- Its controller runs a reinforcement‑learning policy trained in simulation that updates decisions about every 32 milliseconds.
- Measured performance includes successful returns on most heavy‑spin shots up to about 72 rotations per second and smashes near 59 km/h.
- Independent researchers praise the feat yet call it task‑specific and resource‑intensive, noting a 49‑person team and warning that the control approach may waste energy and pose safety risks.