Japanese robot know how to play football

The Eco-Be robot, built by the Japanese manufacturer Citizen, can compete with other robots at the Worldcup event in Bremen, Germany, in June.

With a clock motor and an infrared remote control lithium-ion battery, the tiny robot can travel up to 1.5 m / min. Citizen said the speed was too small to kick a real ball, so Eco-Be would play on a horizontal screen with a virtual ball.

According to Yoichi Kashiwa, a spokesman for Citizen Watch, the robot will use a real ball in the RoboCup 2007 competition. He said the company is still working on the research, but in the future there will be football matches. between two teams with 11 robots.

In the manufacture of robots, the company will also be able to create new ideas that can be used to fabricate in other electronic devices.

The RoboCup competition comes from Japan to encourage research into artificial intelligence and robotics for football.

Citizen Watch wants to create an Eco-Be football team, programmed differently among tiny robots to compete.