When will robots do to football what computers did to chess? A look at the RoboCup in Brazil, where robots show their football skills and push the boundaries of artificial intelligence.

Source: The Economist

Date: December 11th, 2014

Link (to paste into browser): www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10152890338439060

Link to article (to paste into browser): http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21607755-when-will-robots-do-football-what-computers-did-chess-humans-1-machines-7?fsrc=scn/fb/wl/vi/humansmachines

Discussion

1) Watching the video it is hard not to laugh at the pace of the football/soccer game taking place. The tournament organizers believe that by 2050, though, machines will be able to beat humans at the game. Consider this, and do you believe it?

2) How do tournaments such as this help advance robotics? (Consider the DARPA challenge for autonomous vehicles perhaps: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DARPA_Grand_Challenge)