A Dynamic Robot That Can Throw, Catch, and Hit a Baseball

Researchers at the RAI Institute have built a low-impedance platform to study dynamic robot manipulation. In this demo, robots play a game of catch and participate in batting practice, both with each other and with skilled humans. The robots are capable of throwing 70mph [112 kph], approaching the speed of a strong high school pitcher. The robots can catch and bat at short distances (23 feet [7 m]) requiring quick reaction times to catch balls thrown at up to 41 mph [66kph] and hit balls pitched at up to 30 mph [48kph].