Now throwing out the ceremonial first pitch: a robot. Engineers at the University of Pennsylvania have created a one-armed, three-wheeled robot that will throw out the first pitch before Wednesday's game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Milwaukee Brewers.
PhillieBot is made out of a recycled Segue, with a pneumatic cylinder added. The robot's computer brain can adjust the pitch velocity and trajectory. Its fastball can hardly be described as killer: The Philadelphia Inquirer reports a practice pitch appeared to be going no more than 40 miles per hour. The Phillies say that's on purpose, as a safety precaution.
Source: Associated Press