About

About Sony AI Ace autonomous table-tennis system

Ace is Sony AI’s physical-AI research system for competitive table tennis. Its hybrid perception stack combines three IMX636 event sensors with nine IMX273 active-pixel cameras operating at 200 Hz. Sony AI reports 10.2 ms perception latency and ball-spin tracking above 9,000 rpm, providing the state estimates used to predict high-speed trajectories.

A reinforcement-learning policy trained in simulation runs within a hierarchical controller at 1 kHz and adjusts strike trajectories during a rally. The physical platform uses two prismatic and six revolute joints, a racket end effector and a ball cup for one-armed serves. Sony AI reports multiple wins against elite players and a victory over a professional player; Ace remains a validated research system rather than a commercial sports robot.

Capabilities

Source-backed capabilities

Operating environments: Physical table-tennis assessments and tournament matches
Control modes: Autonomous
Table-tennis play
Research demonstration - Play live table-tennis rallies and matches against elite and professional human players. - environment: Physical table-tennis assessments and tournament matches
Source

Observed use

Exact-product configurations are shown without inferring supply, purchase, customer status, standard fit, deployment or partnership.

Harmonic Drive Systems gearboxes
Research Experiment - Embedded - Physical - Sony AI’s Ace research robot used Harmonic Drive Systems gearboxes in its upgraded six-axis arm.
Source
Yaskawa motors
Research Experiment - Embedded - Physical - Sony AI’s Ace research robot used Yaskawa motors to increase torque in its upgraded six-axis arm.
Source

Supply

Supply / Components

Ace
Sony Imx636 For Sony AI Ace - Perception - Sony Semiconductor Solutions - Sony AI Ace integrates Sony Semiconductor Solutions IMX636 event sensors for gaze-control perception - source: sony-semicon.com
Source
Sony AI Ace autonomous table-tennis system
A Thk Linear Motor Xy Axis Unit Moves The Full Ace Robot In The Horizontal Plane - Actuation - THK - THK supplied a custom Linear Motor XY Axis Unit to move Sony AI’s Ace table-tennis robot - source: thk.com
Source
Sony AI Ace autonomous table-tennis system
Caged Ball Lm Guide Model Shs Is Integrated Into Ace's Linear Motor Xy Axis Unit - Actuation - THK - THK’s custom XY stage for Sony AI’s Ace robot incorporates Caged Ball LM Guide SHS units - source: thk.com
Source
Sony AI Ace autonomous table-tennis system
Cross Roller Ring Model Ru Is Installed In Project Ace's Sony Developed Six Axis Table Tennis Robot - Compute & Control - THK - Sony AI’s Ace table-tennis robot uses THK Cross-Roller Ring RU bearings in its six-axis arm - source: thk.com
Source
Ace
Sony Imx273 For Sony AI Ace - Perception - Sony Semiconductor Solutions - Sony AI Ace integrates Sony Semiconductor Solutions IMX273 sensors for high-speed table-tennis perception - source: sony-semicon.com
Source

Research

Outplaying elite table tennis players with an autonomous robot
2026-04-22 - Research Publication - Nature paper describing Ace’s hybrid high-speed perception and reinforcement-learning control and its competitive evaluation against elite table-tennis players.
Source