Researchers Use Table Tennis To Understand The Dynamics Between Humans And Robots In An Agile Environment

Researchers from Georgia Tech have developed a collaborative robot, or “cobot”, that can work closely with human partners to complete tasks. The robot, a Barrett WAM arm equipped with a camera and paddle, was trained through a machine learning process called imitation learning. The team developed a system to give the robot positive reinforcement for successful bursts and negative reinforcement for failed bursts. The robot was tested using the sport of table tennis to demonstrate areas in which a robot can work closely with human partners to complete tasks.