Robo Cup

Also known as RoboCup
==Insights==
===Editorial===
:by Tribune-Review staff, May 25, 2008
Pittsburgh's out of its regional mind over hockey, but the Stanley Cup final series between the Penguins and the Red Wings has some serious competition over at the Carnegie Science Center.
As the Pens get ready for Monday night's game two in Detroit, the science center is hosting the RoboCup 2008 U.S. Open -- aka the Stanley Cup of robotic soccer.
A news release from the science center makes RoboCup 2008 sound more exciting than soccer itself.
It boasts that "A new breed of athlete -- composed of circuits, switches and sensors -- will take to the soccer field at the RoboCup 2008 U.S. Open," a round-robin tournament that ends Tuesday with championship bouts.
The science center, which has cleared room on its second floor for the contests, says the RoboCup features "teams from universities competing in four categories of robotic soccer -- from autonomous, soccer-playing Aibo robotic dogs to small cylinder robots less than six-inches tall, which are capable of 'kicking' a soccer ball more than 30 miles per hour."
The RoboCup series is included in the price of admission. But don't bother bringing binoculars to get a close-up of the action.
Some of the robots -- the nanobots -- are so small you'll need a microscope to see them.