A Japanese girl who advanced to the semi-finals for the first time in the history of basketball at the Tokyo Olympics.

The success rate of three-point shooting, which is used as a weapon, has a high probability of 39% so far, but there is a "shooter" with a skill that the success rate exceeds 90% at the match venue, and it has become a hot topic.

The "shooter" is a humanoid robot equipped with AI = artificial intelligence.



Height is 2 meters and 11 centimeters. The wheels at your feet move the court, and camera sensors attached to your feet and chest measure the direction and distance to the goal.



At the Olympics, he appeared in the half-time of the game, and shot free throws, three-point shots, and even shots from the center of the court and half-line in the same form as the players, and sank into the ring one after another.



The success rate of three points is a whopping 92%. It's a surprising result.



The work was done by the development team of Toyota, a major automobile manufacturer.


After practicing about 200,000 shots, the first machine was born in 2017.



Tomohiro Nomi (43) was the center of development.



After that, at the request of the Games Organizing Committee, I decided to show off at the Tokyo Olympics, saying, "I want to show the technical capabilities unique to Japan." I was at a loss.



The Tokyo Olympics have arrived.



Mr. Nomi and his colleagues rented the venue from a month ago and proceeded with preparations, and since the court could not be used during the day after the opening, the robots were adjusted at midnight and worked while taking a nap on the spot. It means that there was also.



The robot that was shown in that way.


What I was waiting for was an unexpected response.



It became a hot topic mainly in overseas media and SNS, and was featured in the net news of NBC Sports in the United States under the heading "Robots took the lead role in the game."



In addition, a reporter from the Washington Post interviewed at the venue said, "This kind of thing cannot be imitated in countries other than Japan."



After entering the final tournament, the robot also showed off a dribble following the shoot. It gave me even more surprises.



Mr. Nomi said, "I was rewarded with an unexpected response. At the Olympic Games, I was able to give back to all the people who cooperated in providing hospitality unique to Japan. I think that Japanese manufacturing can still be done, and I see this. I hope many people will come to Japan, "he said proudly.



Dribble to shoot, and what kind of technique will you show next?



I'm looking forward to it more and more in the future.