Programmable vs. non-programmable robots

Many people are excited when they think of owning a programmable robot. They should be. However they should be excited not only by the possibility that they can program a few sequences for the robot to execute, they should be excited about whether the robot is able to execute these sequences realistically and reliably.

If a programmable robot takes two seconds before it is able to change from one spin to another, what good is that? This means that one would have to wait for two seconds to get say, a top-spin after having just gotten a back-spin. In a game situation, spin changes occur in much shorter times. A realistic time would be about one half of a second. If a programmable robot takes two seconds to change from one spin to another, then you might as well get a non-programmable robot.

The programmable robots on the market today need to use very light material to make the throwing wheels. They do, because the wheels need to recover as quickly as they can from the previous spin. Usually the material is foam. Foam? How long can this last? Of course, not all programmable robots use foam wheels, but the ones on the market that don't, are multi-headed robots that rely on alternating from one head to another, thereby allowing time for the other head to get up to speed. Multi-headed robots are a better way to make programmable robots.

Another problem is that some of these robots do not oscillate by moving the entire head from side to side. Instead, they employ a deflector. Imagine these robots trying to throw no-spin and place the balls at different horizontal spots on the table. Every time the ball hits the deflector, the no-spin is converted to some form of side-spin.

None of these programmable robots is able to throw loops. Loops are an essential part of the game of table tennis. In order for these robots to be able to program loops into their sequence, the wheels would need to reach very high speeds. That would absolutely make them impractical, because it would take several seconds to wind down from a loop to say back-spin.

Now let us take a look at regular non -programmable robots. Most people think that they are boring because they throw the same ball over and over. To an extent, this is true. However, there are trade-offs between this kind of robot and a programmable one. As mentioned before, it is impractical to program a loop into the sequence of balls a programmable robot throws. In a regular non-programmable robot, there is only one type of ball being thrown at any given time. This means that you can set your robot to serve loops or any kind of ball, whenever you want to.

A non-programmable robot, though repetitive, gives excellent practice, especially when made to oscillate. No-spin balls come out as true no-spin and loops are possible. It is also very simple to operate.

In conclusion, be sure of what you are getting into when you decide to purchase a robot. Don't just get a robot because it is programmable. The programmable robots now available on the market are not going to give you what you expect. What good is a programmable robot that cannot serve no-spin or loops? What good is it if it can serve pure no-spin only from a fixed non-oscillating position? Ask tough questions like: How durable are the throwing wheels? Will I get pure no-spin when required, or will I get some side-spin added? Is the time interval between spin changes in a sequence short enough to simulate practice between two humans, as I was looking for? Don't be fooled by gimmicks. Take a look at a programmable robot before you buy it.