STEVE INSKEEP, host: We're going to round out our robotic coverage this morning with news of      robots playing soccer.  Rather than the World Cup, this is the RoboCup US      Open held this week in Georgia.  Scholars displayed their creations and      sent them out to compete against one another in a series of games.  In      one of them, robotic dogs waddled across a field striking a little soccer      ball with their noses. Robot dogs from a German university defeated      robots from the University of Texas 2-zip.  Scientists hope to use what      they learn to improve robot software, and they are even      dreaming--dreaming, we should emphasize--of a team of robot soccer      players that could someday compete against humans.</s>STEVE INSKEEP, host: You can find video of robots making copies of themselves at npr.org.</s>STEVE INSKEEP, host: This is MORNING EDITION from NPR News.
Robot dog soccer was the most popular sport at this year's 2005 RoboCup U.S. Open. One of the goals at the three-day competition at the Georgia Institute of technology is to develop software for better robots. Steve Inskeep reports the long-term goal is fielding a robot soccer team good enough to play a human team by 2050.