Mechanical players will strive to score goals in Robocup

Brazil's World Cup may be in full swing, but teams of robotic players are busy warming up to be in with a chance of lifting another trophy. The mechanical teams are set to battle it out on the pitch in a less well-known football tournament also taking place in Brazil this summer. A group of five humanoid'Drake' robots will compete as a team at the RoboCup 2014, which kicks off in Joao Pessoa on 21 July. RoboCup is an annual international robotics competition founded in 1997. It aims to promote robotics and artificial intelligence research.