Meet the rock-paper-scissors robot that never loses

A game of rock-paper-scissors can be a great way of settling a debate, but don't challenge the University of Tokyo's Janken robot: you'll never win.

Since the robotic hand was developed in 2013 by the Ishikawa Watanabe Laboratory it hasn't lost a single round of the gesture-based game, as it's equipped with a super high-speed camera and a robot hand response so quick it can out-perform any human.

Janken uses the combination of high-speed vision and a high-speed gear to track what the human player is going to choose and then form its winning shape in 20 milliseconds, compared to the 60 milliseconds a human averages.

Janken 3.0 uses new high-speed tracking technologies, including a 1 millisecond auto pan-tilt feature, in order to extend the field of view. This essentially enables Janken to watch the human hand through its entire movement no matter where it moves. The video released by the university shows a human challenger firing out different hand shapes after counting to three and Janken responding triumphantly every time.

The developers haven't just spent budget and a lot of time in order to win a game, they are using this technology with the intention to implement it in factories or even in situations where precise action is required.