Legend of the Cyber Heroes
Chapter 635 - 229: Xiang’s Business Strategies

Chapter 635: Chapter 229: Xiang’s Business Strategies

"What do you think about the ’Mechanical Ali’ just now?" Xiang Shan leaned back in his office chair, arms folded across his chest, and asked, "I mean the sparring robot we just saw."

Coach Novich nodded: "It’s a piece of incredible technology."

"Do you think it can be effective in training?"

"If these big toys can actually emulate the skills of Ali and Tyson, then they certainly can," Novich said. "No one is yet qualified to have Ali as a sparring partner and let him go all out, right? Even if it’s just for specialized training, it could well replace most shadow boxing."

Shadow boxing is a training method where athletes practice boxing techniques with their hands, without wearing any protective gear, either alone or with the help of others.

After mastering the basic boxing techniques and footwork, most athletes need to improve their combination punches and the coordination between punches and footwork, and shadow boxing is the best method for developing these abilities.

"Shadow boxing" indeed means throwing punches at the air, but it should never be just flailing wildly or practicing routines. Instead, one should first "imagine" an opponent in their mind and consciously interact with this imaginary foe.

Since shadow boxing is not actual combat training, athletes face less psychological pressure and can concentrate more on their own movements.

Of course, by the same token, shadow boxing does not improve the psychological resilience required for actual combat.

All in all, it’s a very important aspect of training.

"Mostly, yes..." Xiang Shan nodded, "Is there anything that traditional shadow boxing can achieve that these sparring robots can’t? You can write a report if you like... Forget it, let’s save that for later and talk business first. How do you think these gadgets will sell as training equipment?"

"That..." Coach Novich hesitated for a moment: "How much does this thing cost?"

"Exclusive of research and development costs, just the manufacturing price, it’s only tens of thousands of dollars," said Xiang Shan.

Coach Novich shook his head: "You can just tell me the selling price."

"One hundred thousand dollars?" Xiang Shan said. "I’m not certain, it doesn’t need to be too expensive, I’m willing to accept a half-sale, half-giveaway."

The key components of this robot actually have a lot in common with prosthetic manufacturing and control technologies. Most of the technology that supports the operation of this gadget comes from Superman Enterprise’s leftovers in the "Cyberization" field.

The other parts are either part of Superman Enterprise’s marketing strategy or products of Xiang Shan’s personal interest.

Recombining and selling these components is a win no matter what—Xiang Shan is best at using such technological advantages to "kill several birds with one stone," while simultaneously opening up markets that didn’t exist before.

It would also pave the way for the "Cybernetically Enhanced People Martial Artists Professional League" a few years later.

Novich was somewhat confused: "These... the Boxing Kings who granted you the licenses, don’t they require a licensing fee?"

"Hmm," Xiang Shan nodded. "Ali’s family said that after exploring the boundaries of fighting skills, they agreed to forgo the licensing fee, but they also requested that we cannot sell the Boxing King Ali’s skills as a product. Ali’s family was the first to take this stance, and Mr. Tyson did the same. With these precedents, many combat sports athletes are willing to follow suit."

"That means, if another company produces similar robots, then they can also use those athletes’ records to train AI or directly utilize our company’s open-source data."

At this point, Xiang Shan couldn’t help but smile: "You see, the world isn’t short of people with a spirit of sharing. I can tell you more about this story later."

"I think many clubs and boxing gyms will be willing to buy them," Novich nodded.

Frankly speaking, one hundred thousand dollars is not a very high price. For many professional sports, such as soccer, basketball, boxing, etc., the annual training costs for top athletes can reach a million dollars, and many specialized pieces of equipment and venues are astronomically priced.

Compared to those, this robot could really be considered "inexpensive."

It can also demonstrate the skills of athletes on the level of Ali and Tyson.

Xiang Shan continued, "Of course, I have certain conditions. To get this price advantage, they have to share their training data while using this robot. We can guarantee not to make these training data public, but only use them to train AI. If they refuse this condition, then the buying price could be higher to share more of the research and development costs. Well, that’s all for now."

Novich nodded: "I think many boxing gyms would be willing to share data."

After all, a professional league is not the same as the traditional martial arts community, which has various secretive taboos. A boxer’s techniques will all be displayed in the ring, and the ring will leave video records. It can be said that before an athlete steps into the ring, his habits and techniques will be thoroughly researched by his opponent—of course, he will most likely have thoroughly researched his opponent as well.

In most cases, the contenders in a professional ring are transparent.

Xiang Shan said, "Of course, I have another idea. You know, the AI these days has self-learning capabilities. And among the scholars who are most familiar with deep learning, includes yours truly."

Lu Xuanyu quickly clapped his hands. Novich was somewhat lost but seeing his boss suddenly boast, he went along and clapped as well.

Xiang Shan pressed his hand downward: "I didn’t ask for applause. What I mean is that while the AI is training you, you are also training the AI. They will study how to counter your techniques and how to imitate your techniques."

"If a sparring robot is shared by a boxing gym, then the Boxing technique it eventually masters will embody the ’common characteristics’ of that gym’s group."

Novich was stunned, "That... can it continue to get stronger?"

"Hmm... depends on how you think about it," Xiang Shan shook his head. "You know, if a group of subpar boxers are sparring partners for a top boxer, the top boxer might actually pick up some bad habits. If the benchmark is people like Ali and Tyson, then most people at the boxing gyms might cause the AI to weaken."

Novich was bemused: "What’s the use of that?"

Xiang Shan said, "Well, if you put two gyms’ robots in the ring, couldn’t you directly compare the technical styles and average level of the two gyms? That’s a very direct advertisement!"

Novich was startled. But he quickly admitted that if what Xiang Shan said was not just a way to describe advertising style, it might indeed be plausible.

"When do you plan to hold these robot competitions?" Novich asked. "Although relying on ’novelty’ can attract eyeballs for a while, it might not always draw interest, right? Boxing enthusiasts would definitely prefer to watch human versus human matches."