Table Tennis Robot
In this Eureka Crate, you'll explore the science, engineering, and history behind table tennis machines while building one of your own!

Explore:
- Motor-Powered Launching
- History of Table Tennis
- Science of Ball Spin
Behind the design
Peek into the KiwiCo product design studio and the design process behind the Eureka Crate Table Tennis Robot.
- The overall shape of the table tennis robot didn't change much in development, but lots of its parts got refined. This early prototype had a foam target instead of a net, featured a long rail for the balls instead of the larger triangular ball feed, and had the launch pin at an angle instead of horizontal. The prototype worked, but changing these aspects helped it work better.
Early Workings
- At one point in development, the balls stopped launching correctly — they'd only pop out a couple of inches. We couldn't figure out what was wrong, so we used slow-motion video to investigate. It turned out the balls were hitting the top of the front opening when they launched! (Notice how the machine jumps up?) Raising the opening a few millimeters was enough to get them launching correctly again.
Slow Motion
- Video also helped us see how much we needed the loading arm. Before we added the arm, nothing stopped balls from stacking up in the loading area, which led to messed up launches and the stacked balls popping out like popcorn. The loading arm loads one ball at a time and stops the others from stacking, giving you better launches and no popcorning.
Keep Them Separated
- Speaking of the loading arm, we showed you a few of the prototype arm designs in the Maker's Guide. The prototypes didn't all survive the development process, but here's a more complete catalog of arms. Check out how the design morphed subtly from version to version!
Loading Arms