Germany Rules RoboCup

Germany dominates the world of soccer-playing robots.

The 2006 RoboCup, an international tournament that pits teams of soccer-playing robots against each other, finished Tuesday in Dortmund Germany. Germany took the highest number of medals in the event, which drew 440 teams from 36 countries and more than 15,000 spectators.

Robots with names like R2d2 and C3PO squared off on fields that allow for testing advances in robotics and entertainment for spectators. Tournament participants strive to create a team that can one day defeat humans.

The competition is divided into five separate leagues that feature small robots, medium-sized robots, large four-legged robots, humanoid robots and computer-generated players.

Germany took 11 of the 33 gold cups. China came in second place with nine and Japan ranked third with six medals. Iran took five gold medals.Next year's tournament will be in Atlanta.