THEY PLAN TO FILL THE STANDS WITH ROBOTS TOO

Brave new world. Get ready for robots that can think (Jodie Sinnema, Edmonton Journal, February 23rd, 2005)

Bowling is creating a 67.5-kilogram robot capable of speeds up to 20 kilometres an hour to play soccer with and against humans on Segway human transporters. The robot, worth at least $14,000 US, will adapt its kicking strategies and goal-scoring manoeuvres depending on how aggressive or defensive other players are or how muddy the turf is.

The U of A already has soccer-playing robots, but ones much smaller than Timmy that play with golf balls on fields about three times the size of a ping-pong table. Those robots only play each other and, being programmed in similar ways, don't have to reason with intellectual teammates who dribble down the field or deke the goalie by veering suddenly to one side, Bowling said.

Unlike these smaller soccer aficionados, Timmy -- fondly named after the wheelchair-bound cartoon character from South Park -- will soon be weaned off his joystick and given camera eyes and will have to play on his own with no human intervention, Bowling said.

In May, Timmy will be off to Atlanta, Ga., to compete with other robots and their human counterparts on Segways. Similar research is being done at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pa., where Bowling taught until last year. By 2050, robotics experts aim to field a team of robots that will trounce humans in soccer.

Word has it they are completely stumped on how to make them fake injuries.