Today the 2007 RoboCup challenge kicks off in Atlanta. About 1700 students and faculty members from leading universities all the way down to elementary schools will compete in the robot competition, pitting new robotic creations against one another in four-legged and two-legged soccer competition, as well as search-and-rescue races and other tests.
The competition, held at the Georgia Institute of Technology through July 10, aims to inspire students to push the envelope in robotics research. It's also intended to make robotics and computer science more appealing to a wider number of students. Finally, RoboCup plans to field a team of soccer-playing robots against a human team by 2050.
One team that's getting early attention is the SpelBots of Spelman College, a historically black women's institution in Atlanta. In 2005 the SpelBots made history (RoboCup history, at least) when it became the first all-black, all-female undergraduate team to qualify for the four-legged soccer competition. In 2007, with more tournament experience under their belts, they intend to win it all. –Josh Fischman
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