Industrial automation company Comau SpA has built a robot that is capable of scoring more three-point shots than NBA champion Marco Belinelli.
Called Racer and used by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in its plants, the robot challenged San Antonio Spurs shooting guard Marco Belinelli on a three-point shooting contest.
The small payload robot shows off its skills in a video by spinning a basketball on its “fingertip,” passing to Belinelli and even beating him in a three-point contest. The point of this PR stunt was to showcase the high level of sophistication robots are capable of nowadays and, more importantly, how the smaller-scale Racer robots can work safely with humans to complete almost any task they’re programmed to do.
“The traditional way of showcasing robots is quite boring. This was just one fun way of showing what a robot can do,” Comau Robotics COO Mathias Wiklund told The Detroit News.
The Racer robot is designed for arc welding, assembly, machine tending as well as a series of other applications and is controlled by a human using a remote control with a new software system. Scroll down to see it in action.