RoboCup > 1000 soccer-playing robots from 40 countries

Ron Czapala

http://news.yahoo.com/move-over-messi-come-robots-061942057.html

Welcome to the RoboCup, where more than a thousand soccer-playing robots from forty countries have descended on the Dutch technology Mecca of Eindhoven this week with one goal in mind: beat the humans.

Eventually.

The tournament's mission is to defeat the human World Cup winners by 2050 — creating technology along the way that will have applications far beyond the realm of sport.

To achieve the goal, organizers have created multiple competition classes — including small robots, large robots, humanoid robots and even virtual robots — with plans to merge their techniques into a single squad of all-star androids capable of one day winning a man vs. machine matchup.

skylight

Sounds like fun though I'm not sure any professional footballer would want to be on the receiving end of a sliding tackle by a full sized heavy robot.