The scheduled battle of man or machine has taken place on the battlefield of the table tennis court.

Taking place and subsequently released on the 10th The Duel: Timo Boll vs. KUKA video is part of the German robotics company’s celebrations for the new Shanghai robot facility. Celebrations that may just be part of a clever advertising campaign.

Presented for your viewing pleasure is the most advanced robot in the world trading blows with a table tennis champion. Sit back, relax and enjoy the show.

The video was shot in Sofia Bulgaria but very little information has been released regarding how realistic the video actually is. Obviously there has been a liberal use of digital effects in the making of this masterpiece of a commercial.

Timo Boll is quoted by The Independent as saying “Wherever I go, people talk to me and bring up the movie,” Boll said. “The campaign is more than just fun; it promotes the sport of table tennis worldwide.” Making it pretty obvious that the video is more advertisement than battle for table tennis domination.

Humanity can once again hold its head high while playing the second greatest man shed pastime, table tennis is still ours. No matter how the result came about a win is a win. Hopefully this is a sign that the impending robot apocalypse has been averted, put off for a few more years at least. Arm wrestling next?

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