Edinburgh Live were today invited down to test out what is believed to be the world’s first robotic squash court that has been developed at Heriot-Watt.
Pepper - the name given to the 4ft robotic coach - has been designed in order to make solo practicing easier for squash players.
The idea is that the robot - which looks like the offspring of Wall-E and the killer droids in I Robot - will act as a form of motivation whilst also using advanced motion sensors to assess players positioning and ball striking.
The machine of the future has cost around £18,000 to create and has been the baby of PHD student, Martin Ross, who has been working on the project for three years alongside his supervisors.
Not bad for the cost of a deposit on a one bed studio flat in Edinburgh right?
Nonetheless the project involves real players practising a variety of shots and then analysing the technical aspects of their swing.
And you could see this in action when squash player James hit several shots as a test drive.
Through the power of magic, the data was transferred from his racquet to a mobile app that offered suggestions on his racket placement when following through on the ball.
The motion tracking sensor that was attached to the racket to monitor swings and speeds of hitting the ball allowed our little Wall-E friend to interpret the data and give feedback.
Pepper uses phrases including “well done”, “good set” and “try and improve this shot for next time” as it gives guidance on certain shots - acting as a hype man.
The robot is only at the first stage of testing and development with real life players but it is also hoped that the robot will be able to track ball and player movement as well as being transferable to other sports.
Although Pepper is not one for limiting themself to the world of sport, as part of the PHD is understanding how the robot coach could help people rehabilitate at home, if say they had suffered from a stroke and had to carry out exercises for recovery.
What was most impressive was Pepper’s ability to decipher data quickly and to relay that back to the athlete in real time.
The robot coach looks to be the future of sports development as athletes and coaches look to improve on performance without having to be in one another's company.
Heriot-Watt have once again shown that they are at the forefront of technical developments globally.
Now to add Mickey Goldmill’s voice from Rocky one and two for some added motivation.
