This competition isn’t between humans, though, it’s between robots. The essence of the movie “Real Steel” comes to life. Twenty six teams of robotics experts have converged on Bristol, England, to test the mettle of their metal men in the Federation of International Robotics Association (FIRA) RoboWorld Cup, an annual event now in its 16th year. Soccer is the main sport of interest, but the robots — including one named “Usain Volt” in homage to the Jamaican runner also compete in sprinting, basketball and weight lifting. Just like human athletes spend a lifetime preparing for an event that may last a few moments at most, so too do the scientists put their blood, sweat and gears into their robot racers, according to Peter Gibbons from Plymouth University, the team with the Usain Volt robot.
