Toyota robot sinks 80-foot basketball shot, sets world record

The intersection of robotics and sports reached a new milestone as Toyota’s humanoid robot successfully completed an unprecedented long-distance basketball shot, highlighting the advancing capabilities of AI-powered robotics in precision tasks.

Project Background: Toyota’s basketball-playing robot “Cue” began as a volunteer side project in 2017 and has evolved through multiple generations of increasingly sophisticated development.

• The robot first debuted at an Alvark Tokyo professional basketball game in March 2018
• Cue has progressively mastered various basketball skills including three-point shots, dribbling, and free throws
• In 2019, the third-generation model “Cue3” set its first Guinness World Record by making 2,020 consecutive free throws

Record-Breaking Achievement: Toyota’s latest model, CUE6, secured a new Guinness World Record for the longest basketball shot by a humanoid robot with an impressive 80-foot-6-inch shot in Nagakute, Japan.

• The robot succeeded on its second attempt after an initial rim-out
• The achievement took place on September 26, 2024
• The shot demonstrates significant advancement in robotic precision and control

Technical Innovation: The robot’s success stems from sophisticated AI-driven learning systems that enable it to optimize its shooting technique.

• Project leader Tomohiro Nomi explained that artificial intelligence helps the robot determine the most effective throwing style
• The system learns from previous attempts by analyzing factors like posture, arm position, and shot strength
• This iterative learning process allows for continuous improvement in performance

Looking Forward: The successful integration of AI and robotics in achieving such precise physical tasks suggests broader applications beyond sports entertainment, potentially extending to industrial automation and human-robot collaboration scenarios where high precision and adaptability are crucial.