Germany Wins RoboCup

German robots dominated another sort of tournament over the weekend in Germany: the RoboCup 2006. German robot teams won in 11 of 33 categories, including soccer and rescuing people from disasters.

The event was open to engineers from around the world who developed autonomous machines that can move around by themselves and make their own decisions. Some are little more than boxes on wheels, but others are human-shaped and as big as a teenager.

"The German robots played better and had superior tactics," said German Science Minister Annette Schavan. The event attracted 440 teams from 36 nations. China came in second with nine first places and Japan finished third by winning six events. The world event is organized by the RoboCup Federation in a different nation each year.

The organizers hope that by 2050, the winners of the RoboCup will be able to beat the human World Cup champions.

"I think that is realistic," said Ubbo Visser, a lecturer at the International University of Bremen's technology center. "If you consider that there was not much more time between the Wright Brothers' first flight and the landing on the moon."

Soccer is described as a useful test for robot science because its elements include movement, strategy and vision. But while most of the soccer robots can dribble, they are not fast.