A paddle-wielding robot is so adept at playing table tennis that it is posing a tough challenge to elite human players and sometimes defeating them, according to a new study in the journal Nature that shows how advances in artificial intelligence are making robots more agile.

The robot that won the humanoid half-marathon this month finished in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, a major improvement compared to the droid that won in two hours, 40 minutes and 42 seconds in 2025