Japanese humanoid robot sets record for longest basketball throw

Guinness World Records on December 4 released footage of Toyota's CUE6 humanoid robot shooting a basketball from a distance of 24.55 meters.

(Video: Guinness World Records).

The performance, held in Nagakute, Aichi, Japan on September 26, marked the second Guinness World Record achieved by Toyota's artificial intelligence-powered humanoid robot, CUE , for the longest basketball throw ever by a humanoid robot.

In 2017, in their spare time, nine Toyota volunteers developed CUE as an AI basketball-playing robot. Over the years, CUE has steadily improved its shooting accuracy and range. In January 2020, CUE demonstrated its skills in the three-point shooting contest at the B.League All-Star Game. On December 24, 2022, the sixth generation, CUE6, was introduced during halftime of the match between Alvark Tokyo and Shiga Lakes.

CUE is not only impressive in appearance, but also very smart. Thanks to AI, it can recognize patterns, learn from mistakes and immediately adjust its posture, hand position, and throwing power. In 2019, the third-generation robot, CUE3, set the first Guinness World Record by completing 2,020 consecutive free throws. The engineers ended the show, although some said it could have continued for a long time.

Over time, CUE's capabilities expanded significantly. From taking simple free throws, the robot could receive the ball, position itself, and shoot from the three-point line and beyond. Later versions even picked up the ball on their own, shot from different positions, moved on wheels, and dribbled.

CUE6 robot sets record for longest basketball throw by a humanoid robot.

To set the new record, the CUE6 received significant upgrades, including modified arms and the addition of a leg camera to better detect ball movement. The first shot missed slightly and bounced off the rim, but the second shot was successful at a distance of 24.55 meters. Meanwhile, the record for the longest human basketball shot is 34.6 meters.

In addition to setting records, the CUE development team at Toyota also wanted to demonstrate the robot's skill and creativity. In the future, they want to develop a robot that can perform complex basketball skills, such as dunking.