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."

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.