Which robot would you recommend?
Michael Vaewhongs
Submitted on 29-Mar-2008 12:29:08 AM
Last updated on 10-Apr-2008 06:20:44 AM
You Asked
My level is amateurish (not have USATT ranking yet). I have no practice partner outside of local club. The local club members are so far above my level and obviously are not interested in feeding me balls for practice. It would seem a robot would be a good training tool. Cost dependent (sub $1000 U.S.D.) and cost independent, what are your recommendations for robot? Also I would like it to be reliable (i.e. not break down after two years) and from reputable manufacturer?
and Alois Rosario said...
Hi Michael,
Going out on a limb here, we don't really recommend robots at all. I think you would be much better off spending some of that money on a coach or even giving the club members some money to have a hit with you.
The limitations of a robot are that the ball does not come out in a realistic enough fashion and is too 'robotic!!!' (sorry about that). You would be much better off getting someone to feed you multi-ball, which is where they feed you out balls constantly using a whole bucket of ball. This is more realistic.
Comments on this question
Michael Vaewhongs commented...
on the 31-Mar-2008 05:31:33 PM
Dear Alois,
I realize that a robot is too mechanical (no pun intended). Local club meets two times a week. And due to my occupation's work hours, I can only attend the club every other week. When I do arrive home from work in the late evening hours, I often like to practice some strokes. Of course in these late hours of the night no one is awake. So far I cannot interest anyone in club to feed me balls as you mentioned (though as you suggestion of paying them is great idea). I wanted a robot as an adjunct to a coach.
I am sorry I did not mention the above background in the original question. With these in mind, any suggestion on a robot? Cost dependent (under $1000 USD) I was thinking about the Newgy 2040. It seems to have been around for some time as it appears in a early 1990's instructional video by Scott Preiss. Also it seems to be the only robot carried by any online USA table tennis retailer. I have no clue on cost independent robots.
Thank you,
Michael
Jeff Plumb from PingSkills said...
on the 01-Apr-2008 10:31:05 PM
Hi Michael,
Unfortunately we don't have any experience with robots. We just don't use them so it is difficult to recommend one. I'll ask around though and see if I can get some feedback from anyone.
As Alois mentioned, it might be worth thinking about spending the money on some coaching lessons if any of the better players at your club are interested. I understand that under your circumstances this might not be practical and so it might be beneficial to get a robot as any practice is better than no practice.
If anyone out there has had any experiences with Table Tennis robots or would like to recommend one for Michael then please post a comment to this thread.
Jeff Plumb from PingSkills said...
on the 08-Apr-2008 11:16:56 AM
Hi Michael,
I asked around and there are some reviews of robots at this website.
http://oneofakindtrading.com.au/robots___ball_machines.htm
Take a look and let me know if they help you out.
