Human Bests Robot In Place Kicking Contest, Robot Asks For Rematch In Combat Arena

Writing by Evan Ackerman on Tuesday, 20 of April , 2010 at 2:15 am

Last Thursday we posted a preview of a robot v. human place kicking contest starring Ziggy the Combot and San Francisco 49ers kicker Joe Nedney. That contest took place today, and here’s the video:

Now, it’s worth noting that Ziggy was actually able to kick over 60 yards (repeatedly) in practice, off of a concrete surface with no headwind. The grass surface of the football field was much softer than concrete, meaning that a significant portion of the energy released by the pneumatic arm went to driving the robot down into the ground as opposed to into the football. But, that’s kinda the deal with robots… They work great in the lab, and then all kinds of crap happens when you get them outside. Suffice it to say that Ziggy will undoubtedly be up for a rematch next year. Meantime, while us humans may not be able to match Ziggy in sheer power, we’ve still got adaptability going for us, with the ability to adjust to new situations on the fly. So for now, we’re still in charge.

For now.

Don’t forget, you can see Ziggy in its element (i.e. not on a football field) tossing 340 pound robots all over the place at RoboGames this weekend in San Mateo, CA. Get your tickets here.

[ RoboGames ]

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Category: Competitive

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