Volleyball-playing robot has Mac mini brain, heart of a champion

Volleyball-playing robots may only come around every ten years or so, but they at least bring along some fairly big improvements when they do show up -- like actual mobility, in this case. Of course, "volleyball-playing" is still a bit of a stretch. The bot is actually designed to be more of a training aid, with it making use of a range of sensors, built-in GPS, a compass, and an iSight camera (all linked to a Mac mini) to track down balls and set them up for spiking drills. As you can see in the unfortunately short video after the break, all of that more or less works as advertised, although it seems that we'll still have to wait quite a while for the inevitable robot vs. robot match.

[fanman @ May 29th 2009 5:26PM]

Only compatible with certain nets?

[NoAndThen @ May 29th 2009 6:00PM]

@fanman: it's compatible with all nets, you just need a net adapter dongle for the ball.

And people say macs don't play games!

[Why should I have all the fun? @ May 29th 2009 10:51PM]

I, for one, welcome our ball-grabbing overlords.

[blueangel00100 @ May 29th 2009 5:29PM]

30 seconds to pick up the ball...

[Mmmm... Dohnuts. @ May 29th 2009 7:07PM]

Tetzlaff! (if you don't know, don't bother looking it up XD)

[El Capitan @ May 30th 2009 11:06AM]

Wow...now that's a lift if I've ever seen one.

[Templarian @ May 29th 2009 5:30PM]

Didn't even put it over the net.

[Major_Player @ May 29th 2009 5:35PM]

AHAHAHHAAH!!!

While real computers are out putting their lives on the line disarming Bombs and what not Stupid APple Mac is playing on the beach.. and still fails..

Apple stuff sucks and blows at the same time...

AHAHAHAHA!!!!

[iKurt 5D @ May 29th 2009 5:54PM]

Go away, troll.

[DCheat @ May 29th 2009 5:55PM]

You know, because the army will start using the iPod touch, plus they use Macs...
Yeah... more like Macs are playing in the beach, and saving our lives (Chuck Norris - like)

[Johnny @ May 29th 2009 5:56PM]

I missed the part where Apple designed the robot.

[Shyam D @ May 29th 2009 6:20PM]

Ironic that the iTroll is telling another Troll to go away. I thought you trolls stuck together. You know Buy One, Get One Free, even if you just want one and not two?

[howsyredge @ May 29th 2009 5:36PM]

Don't volleyball players have friends? Couldn't they find at least one person who wants to hang out on the beach with them?

[Level 5 @ May 29th 2009 5:38PM]

Sweet.. someone queue up "Final Countdown" or "Eye of the Tiger" STAT!!!

[enz1ey @ May 29th 2009 5:41PM]

I didn't know it took a diesel engine to lift a volleyball...

[Spiraling Shape @ May 29th 2009 6:43PM]

It doesn't use a diesel engine. It uses a 24V battery. Read the article.

[enz1ey @ May 29th 2009 11:49PM]

Sarcasm.

[arnaud @ May 30th 2009 8:04AM]

Looks like the robot sent on Mars !
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arnaud
http://podzrebi.over-blog.fr

[E @ May 29th 2009 5:47PM]

I think this is pretty cool. And I think it's designed for hitting drills, not for shooting over the net.

Relax ya'll. It's just volleyball.

[lawyer bird @ May 30th 2009 6:09AM]

And how many macbook pro iphones do you have stapled together to get your macprophone pro?



macs don't play games.

/s

[barracuda @ May 29th 2009 6:03PM]

That ball has drm?

[zed @ May 29th 2009 6:24PM]

See that ball?It will be replaced by your head some day....

[Hackettman @ May 29th 2009 6:34PM]

I play volleyball every summer and the only drawback for this robot is Id have no one to sh!t talk back to me.......

[Wonderkid @ May 29th 2009 6:35PM]

And I shall call him (it?), "Mini me."

[andyhilal236 @ May 29th 2009 6:44PM]

That wasn't volleyball "playing." That was picking up a ball and randomly firing it at the sky.

[AlexD @ May 29th 2009 6:59PM]

Wall-E?

[Uchiha Sasuke @ May 29th 2009 7:25PM]

More like "Net-E"

[Agent .25i @ May 29th 2009 11:55PM]

Voll-E

[G Scott J @ May 30th 2009 1:21AM]

You need GPS to make a robot that plays volleyboll? Talk about overkill. Read the work of Rodney Brooks sometime.

[RobotBuilder @ May 31st 2009 6:52PM]

Rodney Brooks is a hero of mine and an inspiration. However, think about this: on a large beach full of flat sand, there are few, if any, landmarks for a robot to detect. The net would be a good one, but as anyone with experience knows, a net or fence or any object that is mostly open air, is a very difficult computer vision problem. An inertial navigation system, with GPS for correction, is the best solution for localizing in such a sparse landscape. Which is why this robot has a GPS...

[out on a limn @ May 30th 2009 3:54AM]

I too have created a volleyball playing robot superior to this robot. It uses absolutely no power and has never allowed a point by contact with the court floor against a serving opponent. I call it Volleybot 1.

Volleybot 1's main structural component is a system of two vertical poles, each forty meters high, installed immediately behind the volleyball net at opposite boundary line. The ball-handling facility Volleybot 1 is provided by a section of tight, elastic netting the width of the volleyball court and forty meters in height, stretched between the two structural poles. In operation, Volleybot 1 is capable of sustaining a rally indefinitely. Unfortunately, Volleybot 1 is incapable of serving the ball, retrieving an errant dead ball, or of reliably returning service or an attack without incurring an out-of-bounds fault. Also, Volleybot 1 is incapable of love.

Volleybot 2 will probably add support for serving the ball; love support is a maybe for the next release. By Volleybot 4, human players will be as obsolete as human computers, human chess players, or human print journalists. Expected advances in self-replicating pole and net technology should enable Volleybot 6 to make all humans obsolete.

[Alex @ May 30th 2009 10:33AM]

WWWWWWIIIIIIIIIIILSOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNN!!!

[blogs explorer @ May 31st 2009 4:57AM]

volleyball robot needs a GPS ? what for?.. bahh.. i'd rather play with my friends than with some robots..

[RobotBuilder @ May 31st 2009 6:35PM]

Can your friend give you the perfect set every time???