Toyota Motor Corporation unveiled its next-generation humanoid basketball robot, the CUE7, to the public on April 12. The device was presented to the public for the first time in three years, Nikkei Asia reported.
The 219-centimeter robot is equipped with a two-wheeled movement platform and special manipulators designed to catch and accurately throw the basketball. During a basketball game in Tokyo, CUE7 stepped onto the field and successfully threw the ball into the basket.
The primary innovation of the next-generation robot is reinforcement learning technology based on artificial intelligence. He will learn to throw the ball based on his own experience through AI, rather than pre-programming, unlike previous ones.
Engineers also updated its design: a two-wheeled system was used instead of a four-wheeled one, and the weight was reduced by approximately 40% to 74 kilograms. The robot is equipped with a Lidar sensor, a stereoscopic camera, and multiple precision sensors, powered by batteries derived from Toyota racing car technology.
For information, the CUE project has been developing since 2017. The previous model, the CUE3, was known for its record of 2020 consecutive accurate shots, while the CUE6 was known for its accurate shot from a distance of 24.55 meters.
