Researchers at Shenyang Aerospace University have developed an intelligent table tennis ball picking robot that addresses the inefficiency of manual ball collection. The robot integrates three hardware systems—collection, storage, and ejection—to autonomously gather balls and clear its storage when full. The collection mechanism uses a rotating rubber wheel that accelerates balls into an ascending channel, while a turntable with grooves guides them into a sloped storage track. Laser modules monitor capacity, triggering an ejection system that launches balls out when full.
Key takeaways
- Software stack includes a nonlinear PID direction correction algorithm, a Kalman filter for sensor data fusion, and a genetic algorithm for path planning.
- Global positioning uses a ground-fixed reference frame with BeiDou, IMU, and stereo camera to compute ball coordinates relative to the robot.
- Experimental results show algorithm execution time under 5 microseconds, an average positioning error of about 12.05 cm, and a 100% ball collection success rate on the physical prototype.
- The robot's average speed reaches 82.5% of the specified baseline, demonstrating practical feasibility for sports automation.
This design offers a non-manipulator approach that improves collection efficiency and storage capacity, with potential applications in automated sports training and facility maintenance.
Source: 《机器人》期刊 (robot.sia.cn) · Published 2026-05-12 · “智能乒乓球拾取机器人的设计与实现”