Team Osaka unveils new footballer

RoboCup champions Team Osaka have taken the wraps off their latest soccer-playing robot, Vision Tryz ahead of this month's RoboCup 2006 in Bremen, Germany. The 50-cm humanoid is the latest addition to the winsome Vision series, which won the past two RoboCup humanoid league tournaments.

At a press conference this week in Osaka, Vision Tryz told reporters in Japanese: "I'll do my best while aiming for successive championships." The artificial athlete will use its omnidirectional headcam, and 25% better image processing, to spot the ball. Added leg joint motors should help it deke out defenders on the pitch and boost its shooting abilities. We'll see whether Vision continues to prove a robot Ronaldinho.

Check out this video of Japanese kids going nuts as two Visions go head to head.