My robot is better than your point guard
“Yeah, but his D is weak.” Toyota’s team of engineers is tirelessly working on a robot that is independently both physically and mentally capable of b-balling as well as, if not better than, any human. The team is constantly improving this robot, which they call CUE, and has gotten it to a point where it can dribble as well as find and pick up balls by itself. It still can’t walk but it scoots around on wheels attached to each foot. The goal of CUE is to make it move in the same way as humans, so rather than simply having a basketball cannon, it must use its arms, back, and legs to make shots just like a person. It’s also freethinking in that it can adapt to environmental conditions and if it misses a shot it can independently adjust and analyze for whatever abnormality caused it. For example, when making the longest shot, the robot itself decided on the best form to use. However, on its very first attempt, it failed to sink the shot.
Toyota’s robot did win a Guinness Book shot from one end of the basketball court to the other, about 80 feet. The CUE project, led by Toyota’s Frontier research team, began in 2017 with a few volunteers within the company. It all started as a bit of a challenge, to see if artificial intelligence could achieve human-like precision and adaptability in physical tasks. The robot software is built to recognize patterns and even to correct his posture, arm position and shot strength for variables in real time, just like a human would. He continued to improve with every iteration. A lot of work was done to his hands, and foot cameras were added to make it easier for CUE6 to sense the movement of the ball.
A human still as the record for the longest basketball shot ever made it was 113 ft by Joshua Walker (USA) in 2022. But, of course, it took him a lot of throws and a lot of practice. There were high hopes that CUE6 would land the shot on his very first attempt. Sadly, the ball hit the rim and bounced back towards him. But it went in on his second shot. The project leader added: “I want to create something interesting and show the power of craftsmanship, and let the world know that Japan can still do a lot. “I hope we can share that message.” He also shared that his dream is to ultimately create a robot that can, “Dunk like Michael Jordan.”
The way the ball bounces
What do you call two Mexicans playing basketball together?
Juan on Juan
As a 6.2 person a lot of people ask, ” Do you play basketball?”
At some point I started to reply, “Wow… your short, do you play miniature golf?”
Toronto missed out on an opportunity to call their basketball team the Torontosaurus rexes
Q: How many NCAA basketball players does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Only one. But he gets money, a car, and three credit hours for it.
December 16th Birthdays
1775 – Jane Austin, 1985 – Milla Jojovich, 1988 – Anna Popplewell, 1984 – Sarah Paulson
1917 – Arthur C. Clarke, 1984 – Theo James, 1770 – Ludwig Beethoven, 1964 – Benjamim Bratt