In a Teeny Landslide, Team Zurich Sweeps Nanosoccer Finals
In the recent Robocup 2009 games, in which robots compete for prizes and glory, entrants from many nations held their own. In categories including small, medium, humanoid, 2-D simulation, and 3-D simulation, teams from the U.S., China, Germany, Iran, and quite a few other robot-producing countries played and won. However, on the smallest playing field of all, there was one clear winner. The Swiss team roundly trounced the U.S. in three nanosoccer events. Haven't heard of nanosoccer? As the "nano" in the name suggests, this is soccer on an infinitesimally small scale. In fact, it's so tiny that a glass microchip with four nanosoccer playing fields measures 1.2 inches across, or just a hair more than the diameter of a quarter. The athletes, in this case, are computer-driven nanobots, which are comparable in size to dust mites and weigh as little as a...