CZECH REPUBLIC: Dancing and football playing robots entertain visitors at the International Machinery Trade Fair in Brno

Robots dancing and playing soccer are entertaining visitors at the International Machinery Trade Fair in Brno. The 49th International Engineering Fair in the Moravian town of Brno has an unusual spectator attraction - robots dancing and playing football. The development of artificial intelligence has made huge advances in recent years and inventors from the Technical University in Vienna were in Brno this week) to show off their new product. The small, fast and clever robots designed in Vienna are controlled by a camera, while a computer programme manages the robots' movements, and can make them dance or play football. "These are so called Mini Robots," said Peter Kopacek from the Institute of Robotic Sciences and Mechatronics at the Technical University in Vienna. "They have fixed sizes and they work by recognising colours. Our robots have various colours on their upper side and they can be seen through the sight field of a camera. This camera sends with a speed of 120 frames per second information about their position into the team computer. The computer recognizes the situation with the help of colours and manages the wireless robots according to a strategy plan on how to play. That's why our robots have the nice antennas," Kopacek said. In 2008 the 13th international Robo world cup will take place in China, and Kopacek has prepared. "In FIRA, which is the Robot Football World Organization, we have from 32 till 64 pages of our own rules and they are similar to normal football rules. But we don't have any fouls, just the penalty shots," Kopacek said. People visiting the Brno trade fair were fascinated by the robots. "It's really great. When you saw what robots used to look like in the beginning and what they know now, it is a big difference," one spectator said. "The automatisation and robotics develop so fast. Robots will work instead of us very soon," another man said. But the robots are not just for play - the aim is for them to assist on space missions in the future. The fair which closes on Friday (October 5) has been visited by about 100,000 people.

ITN Source | October 8, 2007

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