Robot footballers will be capable of winning the World Cup by 2050, an expert has predicted.
Robot
Scientists have set the ambitious goal of getting robot football stars to overcome humans in the next 30 years through the RoboCup initiative.
Boffins have created human-shaped artificial intelligence players that are capable of making their own decision regarding when to pass or shoot.
Peter Stone, the RoboCup president and computer science professor at the University of Texas, believes that the bots have every chance of claiming the famous trophy because of advances in technology.
He told BBC News: "It's certainly plausible. I wouldn't bet too much on it but I wouldn't bet too much against it either.
"Thirty years is a long time technologically speaking. A lot can happen in that kind of time span."