Robot Throws First Pitch At Phillies Game

RedEaredSlider writes "The first ball at the Phillies-Brewers game will get thrown by a robot — but Roy Halladay's job is still safe. As part of an outreach program and the Phillies' 'Science Day At The Ballpark,' the University of Pennsylvania's School of Engineering and Applied Science is showcasing a robot made from a Segway and featuring an arm that acts more like a human throwing than an ordinary pitching machine. A pitching machine functions more like a gun, firing a baseball in what amounts to a straight line. But the robot has an armature connected to a hand that was specifically designed for throwing. Another thing the robot can do is identify the strike zone."

Comments

Hrmmm...

[mirix]

baseball

robot

not Japan

Interesting...

Re:Hrmmm...

[WrongSizeGlass]

The Twilight Zone did it back in 1960.

Pitching machine

[vawwyakr]

So traditional pitching machines that have thrown balls just fine and are more efficient at doing so don't count? The funny thing is this is still just a purpose built arm that throws a ball sort of like a human, it can't do anything useful or anything else at all for that matter. Call me when a robot can walk out on the field and throw a ball after it finished driving itself to the ball park.

Oh, great.

[Black Parrot]

Now we're replacing politicians with soulless automatons?

Re:Oh, great.

[MokuMokuRyoushi]

Now we're replacing soulless automatons with soulless automatons?

FTFY.

like a human ? you mean like a trebuchet ?

[Anonymous Coward]

This does not attempt to throw like a human. Watch the video.

Science day yields a trebuchet with a remote control.

Youtube link

[zanian]

video was unavailable. This worked though:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShId-vZ-ZEY

Re:It throws like a girl...

[AndersOSU]

Philadelphia fans ...
They boo Santa Claus

But I'll admit, that was a pretty sad pitch.

Plus high standards at Citizen's Bank Park

Hmmm!

[b4upoo]

Way back in 1959 I worked as a teen in a batting cage. The machines actually did throw much as a human does with an elbow and forearm type of mechanism. It was very realistic as no two balls would ever leave the gutter shaped hand the same way due to starting with the balls laces in different positions. So you could get dusted off or even hit by a ball and curves and balls slightly high or low were also thrown. We had three machines. One was little league speed. One for minor league and the final machine was set up to act like a pro pitcher in the world series. Actually I believe that machine was throwing just a bit faster than any pro pitcher could throw although it was supposedly identical to a hot, fast ball. That machine was actually a bit frightening. A mistake in that cage just might get you hurt. The New York Yankees team members used to drop by and smack balls around. They really do hit balls further than normal people can. I know as I was the kid that had to pick up the balls and we had a full size ball field to cover. At night it took some skill not to be slaughtered by a line drive while gathering balls. Keep in mind that there were three batters firing at me. Those days were pre OSHA and I suppose I was taking on a serious risk. Life was different back then.

Re:The Replicants

[cosm]

Twas satire, but your contention raises valid points. It is a very difficult sport, and I apologize if I offended any players. Those offended will have plenty of time to reflect over these comments during each inning and between lulls in the action.