Game improvement is not only about techniques for athletes, but is a result of continuous practice. A reliable training partner, quality coaching with a coordinated schedule can be quite tricky, especially for players training independently.
This gap has been a core focus that sports technology has been working on to overcome.
Pongbot is one prominent investor, founded in 2019, that has developed AI training robots aimed at smarter training, improving endurance, and speed to be match-ready for athletes even during solo practice.
Its robotic training system is built combining detailed engineering with AI automation that can effortlessly adapt to the player’s movements, one step at a time.
Athletes can also customize their training sessions through the easy-to-use mobile app, which contains in-depth analyzed match data. Pongbot, in collaboration with player communities across the world, like Germany, Australia, the United States, Italy, etc., focuses on growing the smart sports ecosystem globally.
Scaling from Table Tennis Tech to AI Tennis Court
Early innovation by Pongbot began at the training space for table tennis with robotic ball servers made for improving reflexes, spin control and practice consistency. This came with the realization that other serving machines, too, came with similar limitations in their function; repetitive ball feeds with no adaptation to player movements.
Practice turned out to be predictable and not reflective of real matches.
To change this, Pongbot started developing training robots using extensive match data with its proprietary AI system, PongSmart algorithm. Resulting in the training robots reading player positioning accurately, then dynamically adjusting their ball throw. Leading to the innovation of Pongbot Pace S series, an AI tennis training system made to overcome all the conventional limitations of ball machines.
Since launch, the Pace S series has received lots of positive response, raising more than $2.7 million on Kickstarter, and it secured 69 R&D patents while becoming the #1 Tech & Sports campaign on Kickstarter 2024.
This ultimately earned Pongbot massive recognition from sports influencers as well as professional tennis media, Tennis.com.
NextGen Robotic Tennis kit: Pace S Pro
Among all the innovations by Pongbot, at its centre is Pongbot Pace S Pro, a flagship tennis lineup designed precisely to re-enact a real-time rally at the court as it adapts to each player and their practice techniques.
What makes it different?
It doesn’t just fire balls during training at the same set location; using ultra-wideband (UWB) tracking technology, it can accurately position its throw up to 10 cm. Moreover, the 100Hz tracking rate enables the robot to monitor movements, 3X faster than the usual camera-driven systems. Working absolutely great on both low-light and bright outdoor courts, setting a completely new benchmark for tennis ball machines as automated trainers.
This gives a match-like competition to the athletes without the entire experience being too mechanical, and is ideal for solo practice.
Training Sessions Evolving with Players
Pace S Pro analyses its data to perfect its timing, tracking and intensity during practice drills. So, players training solo can easily run complex shot combinations or try out tricky sequences without worry.
A feature that makes it more intriguing is the Recovery Trigger, a mechanism that only shoots the next ball after the player is back in their designated spot on the court. This shows that the system learns with each practice session, and in no time, it adapts to the drill patterns, improving training with automation.
It can also ensure the natural pace with realistic practice:
- Through match-like speed for refining advanced footwork for athletes
- Beginners playing for recreation can play without getting overwhelmed
Smart drills delivering pro-level thrills
In bringing smart tennis to the court, Pongbot Pace S Pro goes beyond just intelligent tracking. Pace S Pro has the launch power of up to 80 mph, spins reaching about 60 per second, which can assist the tennis players in training their backspin, heavy topspin, as well as combined shots.
It is completely built for full-court practice, from baseline to net, inclusive of 564+ tennis training routines approved and designed by professional coaches; ready and customizable for the players right from the companion app. Easily set a one-on-one match right from the phone.
Smart game planning through a mobile app can further assist the players to form a signature playing style or recreate the training styles of tennis prodigies like Nadal, Djokovic or Federer for a real-match-like thrill during their practice session. Even when the training machine is offline.
Connected training beyond the machine
For Pongbot, the training robots represent a vast connected training system rather than being just a machine. Connecting the use of this smart training robot with mobile app for setting match trajectories enables the following:
- Access to numerous user-generated training practices
- Points and rewards with milestones
- Track progresses through practice-match data
- Download or share drills with the global sports community
Additionally, over-the-air updates in bringing future wearable sensors as part of advanced AI, alongside tennis ball pickers or ball connectors, can lead to smarter training practices.
Table Tennis Robot Joins the Game
Though the latest lineup of Pongbot focuses on Tennis, its table tennis series remains the brand’s core part.
Pongbot Nova S Pro is a portable ball machine, crafted for players looking for a compact yet equally capable training partner. With a launching power of up to 30 to 90 balls per min between 2 and 15m/s, with combined top and backspin, it is designed to be backpack-friendly.
Connecting with the mobile app, players can access over 264 pro-training drills, customizing their game plan with ease.
This is far from basic, but there’s more. The Pongbot Omni S Pro is a series featuring 360° spin adjustment with spins up to 100 per second at speeds up to 15 m/s. Not to miss out the 396 preset drills it has, supported with unlimited custom sessions.
Next comes the Pongbot Halo S Pro, a floor-standing training robot for intense practices. This series is made to support and recreate the tactical sequences, besides the calculative footwork and swing coordination.
It consists of wide oscillation, over 576 preset routines that can be personalised by the players and has 21 speed gears. It is the absolute premium design with app plus remote control and ball-catching net for pro table tennis practice.
Both the models, Omni and Halo, are crafted with the valuable inputs from Chen Bin, a former coach of the Chinese national table tennis team, to ensure these robotic trainers exactly portray the professional techniques.
Get set with Spring Sale Campaign 2026
Coinciding with the start of the training season, Pongbot has also launched its Spring Sale campaign 2026, themed “From Rusty to Ready – Get Back in Form This Spring.” Starting from the 11th of March till 11th of April (PST), Pongbot is bringing up to 45% discounts on its tennis as well as table tennis training robots.
Its flagship model, Pongbot Pace S Pro, stands as the highlight with a massive price drop to $1199.99 from $1999.99, among others, during this sale.
Beyond the exciting offers, customers can also get complimentary accessories or surprise coupons as a newsletter subscriber of Pongbot or spin a lucky wheel for more offers and a free order. The campaign also has a Wish Wall giveaway, a chance for 3 random participants to win a wish from Pongbot.
The campaign, through this comeback season for athletes, brings the opportunity to train smarter with upgraded training robots without burning a hole in their pockets.
Pongbot is redefining smart training for beginners and pro athletes alike. Combining automation with sports routine is an evolution. It is blurring the line between professional coaching and solo training with these robotic training machines, presenting real-match-like challenges for players to adapt to, which could soon make these intelligent training robots as essential to the court as rackets and balls.
Source: www.digitaltrends.com
