Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Sure, there are lots of hard-hitting tech stories we could lead with in this week’s Technology Podcast. But when you have a listener-generated item on kid-sized humanoid robots playing soccer, I think it’s pretty clear how you’re going to kick-off (oooh, sorry) the show. Listener Tam Eastley at the Free University of Berlin told her friend Stefan Otte to email me about FUmanoids, a team at the university that is working on robotic soccer players. Currently ranked second in the world to the Darmstadt Dribblers, FUmanoids are looking ahead to RoboCup 2010 in Singapore. We get Stefan on Skype to chat about how these pint-sized players work in teams to try to score goals, etc. My favorite quote, “People mostly kind-of like to watch the robots fall down.” And based on the video below, there’s plenty of that. However, to give credit where credit is due, think about how far robotics have come in the last five years alone, let alone the last 25 years. I think what the robots are doing in the video is pretty amazing. The goal of RoboCup, by the way, is to field a robotic team that can beat human players by the year 2050.
Here are some other links from the show that may be of interest:
Remember, you can check out our travel podcast, which this week features a cool segment on Google Maps and Russian Railways joint project to create a virtual Trans-Siberian Railway. As I also mentioned, my colleague Rhitu Chatterjee has a podcast segment, and is running a World Science Forum, on the psychology of suicide bombers.
Don’t forget — you can follow WTP on Facebook, and Twitter. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS or iTunes!
Help us by taking our survey about your use of The World’s Technology Podcast.
Discussion
4 comments for “Tech Podcast: Germans prepare for RoboCup 2010”