Racket Control for Robot Playing Table Tennis Ball

This paper proposes a racket control method for returning a table tennis ball to a reference position with a desired translational/rotational velocity. The method determines the racket's state, i.e., the racket's striking posture and translational velocity by using two physical models: racket rebound model and aerodynamics model. The paper makes clear what the racket can control among the reference position, translational and rotational velocities. The algorithm of determining the racket's state is derived by solving nonlinear equations and solving two points problems of differential equation. Two approximate aerodynamic models are proposed for real-time treatments. Then numerical simulations show effectiveness of the proposed methods.