Tokyo: Some say the beauty of soccer is that players of any size can compete. But one World Cup contender from Japan is an extreme case -- a one-inch (2.5-cm) robot.
However, legends such as David Beckham don't need to worry about this tiny new footballer just yet.
Eco-Be, developed by Japan's Citizen Watch, will match its skills against other robots during the 2006 RoboCup in Bremen, Germany in June, as its human counterparts take part in the World Cup, the sport's most prestigious tournament.
Run on a watch motor and a lithium-ion battery and remote-controlled through infrared rays, the robot can move at 1.5 meters (five feet) per minute.
That speed is too slow to kick a ball, so Eco-Be will play on a horizontally-laid television screen using a virtual ball, the major watch maker said.
The robot aims to use a real ball in the 2007 RoboCup competition, Citizen Watch spokesman Yoichi Kashiwa said.
"We are still at the outset of development but our future image is to have football games between 11 robots vs 11 robots which would make formations by their own judgment," Kashiwa said on Thursday.
In developing the robot, the company will also be able to "hit upon new ideas" that can be used in manufacturing other electronics devices, he added.
The RoboCup is a Japanese-led initiative to promote study of artificial intelligence and robotics using football games.
Citizen Watch wants to create a Eco-Be league, where the differently-programmed tiny robots would compete.
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