Robocup

Robo Shoots, Robo Scores.

Could a team of robot soccer players possibly beat the World Cup champions? Could a robot player ever match the dribbling skills of Mia Hamm or Zidane? Well, a team of geekoid scientists believes this will soon be possible.

A research group calling itself Robocup is working on making a team of humanoid robots that can win a soccer game against the country that wins the World Cup in the year 2050. That may seem like a long way off but the geekoids involved in the program are already holding annual robot soccer tournaments to prepare for the big game nearly 50 years from now.

For a team of robots to beat the world's best human soccer players, science and technology still has a long way to go. Robots must be developed that can work as a team and think about soccer strategies. How can you teach a robot to adapt to the creative footwork of Zidane or guess where David Beckham might pass the ball? But when you consider that only 50 years passed between the time the Wright Brothers made the first flight and Neil Armstrong walked on the moon - then the chance that a bunch of robots could defeat the best soccer players in the world actually seems possible.

If it does happen, sports will never be the same. If robots are better players, it may mean we only watch games between robots. Humans may never ever play professional sports again! Then again, the one thing you can never give a robot is heart. And heart is what makes Michael Jordan play his best when he has the stomach flu or Eric Lindros play hockey after he's had six concussions.

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