UBTECH’s Walker S2 Humanoid Robot Steps Onto the Tennis Court

UBTECH has released a video showing their Walker S2 humanoid robot competing against a human opponent in a round of tennis. Standing tall on a court with a racket in hand, the robot feeds off serves and returns shots effortlessly, or at least in this edit.

Tennis is one of those sports that need a variety of skills to function simultaneously. The Walker S2 must detect a ball coming towards it at high speed and forecast where it will land before whipping around to take position. Throughout it all, the robot maintains its equilibrium, bending one way for a forehand and another for a backhand. Just when you think it’s over, the Walker S2 swings at the ball at the perfect time and takes it out of the air without breaking a sweat. It achieves all of this in real time, responding to minor changes in the ball’s speed or direction without missing a beat.

This technique relies heavily on vision, as the Walker S2 wears a pair of RGB cameras on its head that function similarly to human eyes. These cameras then employ some clever software to create a 3D map of the area, effectively providing the robot with a super-clear view of the distance and position of any objects in the environment. That means it can quickly follow a fast-moving tennis ball and predict where it will land.

Despite all of this, the Walker S2 maintains perfect harmony. It has a built-in dynamic balance mechanism that runs the entire length of the robot, from the legs to the torso and up to the arms. When the racket strikes the ball, the force travels throughout the entire body, but the robot can modify its posture on the fly to stay upright. The robot’s added reach and power from turning at the waist is what allows it to snare those hard shots.

UBTECH is developing the Walker S2 for use in industries where dependability is paramount. They’ve already sent over a thousand of them out the door, and loads are currently hard at work on manufacturing floors, completing assembly and logistics jobs. The robots can lift a decent 15kg, bend forward as far as you like, and, most amazingly, swap their batteries out in less than five minutes, allowing operations to continue running around the clock.