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The basketball robot that took to the court at halftime during the game between France and the US.
A tall humanoid robot provided the halftime entertainment during an Olympic basketball game, sinking a shot from the free throw line, then a three-pointer, then a half court shot.
Footage of the event shows the robot taking essentially a basketball free-throw stance, pausing for maybe five or six seconds, flipping its large hand and sending the ball on a high, graceful arc towards the basket.
The robot also moves around the court without any visible help and picks up the balls it shoots from trolleys.
Mashable reported the robot appeared to be from the CUE line of robots developed by Toyota. The first in the line appeared in 2018, while in 2019 the third robot in the series, CUE3, set a Guinness World Record of the most consecutive basketball free throws by an assisted humanoid robot. The record was 2020 successful free throws in a little over 6 and a half hours.
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The robot made its Olympics debut during the game between France and the US, which was won by France 83-76, breaking the Americans’ 25-game Olympics winning streak.
