FOR TENNIS, PICKLEBALL, PADEL PLAYERS AURA BRINGS THE TRAINING COURT HOME
Pongbot Exhibiting at CES, Booth #56042, Venetian Expo and at ShowStoppers
LAS VEGAS, Nov. 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Pongbot, an AI driven sports company, today announced that Aura, a light-weight coaching robot powered by a dedicated AI chip for tennis, pickleball and padel players, has been named a CES Innovation Awards® 2027 Honoree in the sports & fitness category. The CES Innovation Awards® 2027 program received a record number of submissions – nearly 4000. The announcement comes ahead of CES® 2027, the most powerful tech event in the world, happening Jan. 6-9 in Las Vegas, NV.
Pongbot CES Innovation Awards
The world-renowned CES Innovation Awards program, owned and produced by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA)®, is an annual competition honoring outstanding design and engineering in 37 tech product categories. Those with the highest score in each category receive the “Best of Innovation” distinction. An elite panel of industry expert judges, including members of the media, designers, engineers and more, reviewed submissions.
An ultra-light multi-sport robot, Aura delivers voice-guided cues, builds customizable match-like drills, and generates individualized performance reports on technique, consistency, movement, and progress. Combining robotics, computer vision, machine learning, Aura makes data-driven coaching accessible – and is able to track every serve, spin and rally, turning each session into measurable feedback that accelerates skill development and performance.
A three-sport machine, Aura’s internal design accommodates three different ball types while maintaining stable performance. Pongbot reworked the hardware architecture so a single mechanical launch-wheel system can automatically adjust its spacing and acceleration parameters for each ball type. The result is a lightweight 8.9 kg machine that one person can carry, load into a car, and take straight to the court—without sacrificing its multi-sport capabilities.
“We’re honored to receive this award and thank CTA and the judges for recognizing Aura’s unique ability to combine adaptive ball-delivery hardware with AI-powered visual analysis and coaching into one machine able to accommodate different sports. This recognition celebrates our team’s hard work and our commitment to building technology that makes a meaningful difference for our customers,” said Haibo Zhang, CEO of Pongbot.
The CES Innovation Awards class of 2027 honorees, including product descriptions and photos, can be found at CES.tech/innovation. More will be revealed on Jan. 4. During the show, attendees can explore select winning products in person at the CES Innovation Awards Showcase at the Venetian, booth #50243. Connect with the innovators behind them at CES 2027, Jan. 6-9 in Las Vegas – next starts here.
About Pongbot
Founded in 2019, Pongbot is an AI-driven sports technology company that develops intelligent training systems for tennis, pickleball and padel, with more sports to come. Our mission is to provide athletes with an intelligent training partner and world-class coach. Pongbot holds 60+ patents, is backed by Qualcomm and endorsed by Olympic champion Zhang Jike.
About CES®
CES is the most powerful tech event in the world – the proving ground for breakthrough technologies and global innovators. This is where the world’s biggest brands do business and meet new partners, and the sharpest innovators hit the stage. Owned and produced by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA)®, CES features every aspect of the tech sector. CES 2027 takes place Jan. 6-9 in Las Vegas. Learn more at CES.tech and follow CES on social.
About Consumer Technology Association (CTA)®
As North America’s largest technology trade association, CTA is the tech sector. Our members are the world’s leading innovators – from startups to global brands – helping support more than 17 million American jobs. CTA owns and produces CES®– the most powerful tech event in the world. Find us at CTA.tech. Follow us @CTAtech.
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