Marcell Missura, a robotocist, is on his stomach staring into his laptop. A robot sits next to him. Marcell clicks and types, then sits up. He holds his hands out to spot the robot, like it’s a child ...

It's a practical embodiment of profound challenges in artificial intelligence and robotic engineering. It's also robots playing soccer. The 15th annual RoboCup, featuring 25 teams from around the ...