recentToyotaCompanyHumanoid Robot CUE6 broke a world record in Nagatte City, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, by successfully completing a 24.55-meter long-distance basketball shot, setting a record for the longest basketball shot by a robot. The feat also earned CUE6 its second Guinness World Records (GWR) title.
This feat was accomplished on September 26th in Nagatte, Aichi, Japan.The shooting distance is nearly the full length of an NBA basketball court (29 meters).
Initially, nine volunteers from Toyota designed and developed CUE, an artificial intelligence basketball robot, in their spare time in 2017. Over time, CUE has continued to make breakthroughs in shooting accuracy and range, gradually starting from simple free throws to being able to complete three-point shooting, and even catching, passing, dribbling and other basketball skills.
1AI understands that CUE has already demonstrated its outstanding shooting ability in the three-point shootout at the B.League All-Star Game in Japan in January 2020.CUE's sixth-generation product, the CUE6, made its debut on Dec. 24, 2022, when it was unveiled at the Tokyo Alvac vs. Shiga Lakers game.
Powerful AI technology is integrated behind CUE6 to optimize the shooting motion by continuously learning to adjust the angle and power of the shot. Thanks to advanced AI algorithms, the CUE6 is able to analyze errors after each shot in real time and make instant adjustments to posture, arm position, and shooting power as if it were a trained athlete.
CUE3 had set a Guinness World Record in 2019 -- completing 2,020 consecutive free throws. As technology advances, the CUE has gradually become capable of catching, moving, and dribbling the ball on its own, while the latest improvements to the CUE6 include the optimization of the hand structure and the addition of a foot camera to more accurately sense the trajectory of the basketball.
CUE6's first shot missed by a fraction of a meter, but on its second attempt, CUE6 managed to put the basketball in the basket, setting a new record for distance shot by a robot. According to GWR, the farthest a human can shoot a basketball is 34.6 meters.
Toyota's research team says they hope to create robots with more complex basketball skills, such as dunking, in the future.