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Sony AI's Ace Wins 7 of 13, Loses to Pros

4/23/2026

Summary

Sony AI’s Ace Triumphs

Sony AI unveiled robot Ace, which won three of five matches against amateur players.
Ace, with nine cameras, three spin sensors and an eight-joint arm, reacts within response time and returns 75 percent of spinning balls.
Ace logged seven wins in 13 games versus amateurs, but won only one of seven games and lost matches against professional league players.
The breakthrough could enable AI in manufacturing, surgery, warehouse automation.

Summary

Ace Outplays

The Ace robotics research was featured on Nature’s cover, a rare honor for robotics work.
The paper “Outplaying elite table tennis players with an autonomous robot” reports tests from December 2025 and March 2026, showing Ace achieved higher shot speeds, more aggressive edge placement, and quicker rally pacing under International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) rules.
Researchers intend to adapt the model-free reinforcement-learning system to other rapid-response fields such as warehouse automation.

Summary

Ace Inspires

Matches were held on an Olympic-sized court at Sony’s Tokyo headquarters, overseen by two Japanese Table Tennis Association umpires.
Michael Spranger, president of Sony AI, warned that the robot could be used in warfare.
Peter Dürr, Sony AI researcher, said giving Ace an unfair advantage would defeat the goal of fair competition.
Kinjiro Nakamura, former Olympic player, noted Ace performed a shot no human thought possible, inspiring new techniques.

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Sony AI’s Ace Triumphs

Sony AI unveiled robot Ace, which won three of five matches against amateur players.
Ace, with nine cameras, three spin sensors and an eight-joint arm, reacts within response time and returns 75 percent of spinning balls.
Ace logged seven wins in 13 games versus amateurs, but won only one of seven games and lost matches against professional league players.
The breakthrough could enable AI in manufacturing, surgery, warehouse automation.

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