By Paul Nicholson
November 19 – According to Russian news agency Tass, scientists at Russia’s Siberian university have started building Russia’s first robot team.
The first team will be made up of a goalkeeper and two strikers, suggesting a formation similar to England’s often-preferred ‘long ball system’.
The chief of the robotics laboratory at the Tomsk State University of Control Systems and Radioelectronics, Yevgeny Shandarov, said: “Our players can find a ball in the field, follow the fall and strike.” He said that the university has already developed some basic software for the players.
Shandarov said that in training, the robots were now practicing coordinated actions in team play and various types of strikes.
The news has been welcomed by club owners who believe that robots would help reduce their wage bill. Confused Russian fan groups are unsure how this works with their racist agendas. The robots may also provide a cost-saving solution to the problem of unpaid national coach Fabio Capello and his robotic style of play. Capello will be understandably concerned about his position and receiving back pay.
Russian military intelligence is expected to have underground enemy-tracking robots from 2015. The technology could be useful for football. Coaches have become increasingly upset by drone surveillance of training sessions – most recently the French at the recent World Cup in Brazil – however, it seems the clever Russians may have engineered a new advantage in match preparation.
The University robot team is currently being prepared for the KidSize League of the RoboCup (Robot Soccer World Cup) international competition.
Russia expects.
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