A humanoid robot nicknamed 'Robo Ronaldo' is making its World Cup debut, offering football fans a glimpse of how far robotics technology has come.
As football fever sweeps the globe, journalist Paul Carter visited robotics company Boston Dynamics to see some of the cutting-edge machines being developed.
The nickname nods to one of the game's most famous players, reflecting the growing ambition to build robots that can kick, balance and move with a ball.
“Football is a brilliant test for robots because nothing on the pitch ever happens the same way twice.”
Humanoid robots have advanced rapidly in recent years, with improvements in sensors, motors and software allowing them to walk, run and recover from stumbles.
Football presents a particular challenge, combining fast movement, balance and quick decision-making in an unpredictable environment.
Researchers have long used robot football as a testbed, with international competitions held for more than two decades.
Developers have increasingly turned to artificial intelligence to help robots learn new movements, training them in simulated environments before testing their skills in the real world. This approach has sped up progress on tasks that once required painstaking manual programming.
Engineers say lessons learned on the pitch can be applied to robots designed to work in warehouses, factories and disaster zones.
Not everyone is convinced, with some critics arguing that humanoid robots remain expensive and that their practical uses are still limited.
For now, supporters hope demonstrations like this will entertain fans and spark interest in science and engineering among young people.
