A badminton-playing robot was left flat on its face after being “knocked out” by a feather-light shuttlecock.
The bizarre moment shows the 1.35-metre-tall humanoid machine gearing up to return a serve from its operator.
But when the man fires the shuttlecock towards it, the bot fails to react and the shot sails straight over its head.
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On the second attempt, the shuttlecock gently taps the robot on the chest.
Moments later, the machine drops its arms and slowly topples forwards, face-planting the floor.
It’s not clear whether the shuttlecock managed to hit a power button or trigger a fault, as reported by Need To Know.
The eye-catching demo took place at the 139th Canton Fair in Guangzhou, China, running from 15 April to 5 May.
The robot, known as Phybot, was unveiled by Guangzhou-based firm Dongyi Technology at the event.
Despite its embarrassing tumble, the high-tech bot is designed for lightning-fast badminton rallies.
It can track a shuttlecock in real time and perform movements – including positioning, stepping and swinging – in under a second.
Thanks to reinforcement learning, it has developed advanced wrist movement, allowing it to replicate human shots such as forehands, backhands and high clears.
And it’s not just built for sport.
According to its makers, the robot can also tackle household chores like cleaning, serving tea and even folding blankets.
With a price tag of around £21,677 (CNY 200,000), the model is being pitched as a major step forward in affordable robotics.
The Canton Fair has increasingly focused on “advanced manufacturing”, with its service robot zone showcasing 46 leading companies.
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