Japanese Invent Giant Soccer-Playing Robot

Soccer players are a weird bunch. Some cover themselves in Elvish tattoos, while others claim to have problems telling men and women apart. Hajime 33 is no exception to the trend, what with him being a giant robot and all.

So far, this robot doesn't look like it's going to be starting for Barca any time soon, and creator Hajime Sakamoto said he struggled to get the robot simply to stand up without falling over. However, Hajime 33 does serve as a proof of concept that humanoid robots can be both tall and active. By comparison, Asimo, Honda's famously agile humanoid robot, only stands about four feet tall. And some soccerbots are quite a bit smaller

This is not the first time someone has created a soccer-playing robot. However, Hajime 33 certainly is the tallest, so maybe he can play keeper -- sort of the Zeljko Kalac of the all-robot team.

[via Scientific American]