Footage of ‘human-robot’ tennis match is AI-generated

 

 Screenshot of the viral video of human-robot table tennis match.

 

News Brief

A video circulating on the social media platform X (formerly known as “Twitter”) claims to show a table tennis match between a robot and a human athlete. The video’s caption reads, “Will humans ever beat robots? Is it only the beginning?” Some netizens questioned the authenticity of the video.

As of the issuance of this report, the post had been shared 265 times, and had received 27 quotes and 761 likes.

 

Fact-checking

Various inconsistencies were found in the viral video. For example, at the beginning of the video, the reflection of the robot on the floor made the robot appear suspended in mid-air. Additionally, at the eight-second mark, the robot’s jumping posture appeared unnatural.

 

The robot’s form in the viral video is unnatural.

 

An English-language post that contains an identical video captioning “An intriguing future awaits us” was found. A comment reads, “This video is of course edited and it still remains as a representation of the future.” Furthermore, other users added context to this video: “This is not a real robot. This video has been digitally altered from a table tennis match featuring Slovak player Wang Yang.”

 

The author of the English-language X post confirmed the video was edited.

 

A reverse image search found a table tennis match video, titled “Yang Wang’s INSANE Defense Skills: The BEST Table Tennis Point of 2023,” published by the YouTube channel “Jan Valenta – Table Tennis.” Except for not involving the robot, the content of the viral video is identical to that of the YouTube video, and the robot’s movements matches those of Wang Yang.

 

Screenshot comparison of the viral video (left) and the YouTube video (right).

 

The end of the viral video indicated that the match was between the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Relevant keyword search found a YouTube video released by the Czech Table Tennis League. The 0:56 to 1:15 mark of the YouTube video closely matched the content of the viral video. According to the description of the YouTube video, it is about the men’s team qualification match of the European Table Tennis Championships held on March 22, 2023. Due to Wang Yang’s outstanding performance in that match, the video segment became widely circulated online.

A reverse image search discovered that the same robot imagery had appeared in another video shared on the Chinese online video platform Bilibili. The video’s subtitles included the term “AI video transformation,” and it was tagged as an “AI video.”

 

The robot footage in a video shared on Bilibili, labeled as an “AI video.”

 

Searches were conducted based on the robot’s imagery. It was found that the humanoid robot in the video was likely generated with a platform called Wonder Studio. Wonder Studio uses artificial intelligence to add and animate computer-generated imagery into existing footage. The same robot imagery can be seen on the program’s official website.

 

The robot imagery showcased on the official website of Wonder Studio closely matches the robot in the viral video.

 

Furthermore, the website demonstrates various computer-generated characters. According to an article published by a Hong Kong online media organization, Wonder Studio utilizes AI to extract actors’ movements and even facial expressions from source videos, applying them to computer-generated characters while separating the real actors from the scenes. Based on the original footage, the program also automatically adjusts details such as the body position, body proportions, materials, lighting, and composition of the 3D character.

 

Examples of the computer-generated effects showcased on the Wonder Studio official website.