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Computing

Robot competition shows off state-of-the-art machinery

January 20, 1999
Web posted at: 5:28 p.m. EST (2228 GMT)

From Correspondent May Lee
robot
RELATED VIDEO
CNN's May Lee reports on cutting-edge robot technology
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YOKOHAMA, Japan (CNN) -- It takes specialized skills to turn computer chips, wires and wheels into a functioning robot. Those skills were put on display last weekend at the Robot Grand Prix in Yokohama, where inventors of all ages gathered to show off their mechanical creations.

Eighty-six teams of inventors and their mechanical pets went head-to-head in contests that tested efficiency and dexterity.

One of the main contests was a mechanical joust involving the robot "Lancer"- a machine that could be the prototype for a 21st century knight.

The Lancer was judged according to its ability to hit disks and knock down cylinders in a race lasting just 100 seconds.

Also on display were some robots programmed to entertain and others that were built to serve.

There was also a serious side to the Robot Grand Prix -- a team from the Tokyo Technical University showed off the "People Finder," a device that can look for earthquake victims buried in rubble. The group also unveiled a moving floor mat that can help the handicapped move around their homes with ease.

The machines found at the Robot Grand Prix may be a far cry from the sophisticated androids in today's science fiction movies, but when even amateur creative skills produce machines like these, it may not be long before science fiction becomes science fact.


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