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Japan wants to see robots compete against each other in the 2020 Summer Olympics

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Robot olympics
South Korea has robot spectators at their baseball games? Cute. Japan wants to see robot athletes competing against each other at the 2020 Olympics.

Tokyo will host the 2020 Olympics, and if Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has any say in the matter, the world will see the world’s robots come together to compete for robotic supremacy. “In 2020, I would like to gather all of the world’s robots and aim to hold an Olympics where they compete in technical skills,” Abe told reporters while visiting a manufacturer of care-giving robots.

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The prime minister also shared his desire to see Japan’s robot industry triple in size to 2.4 trillion yen, or about $24 billion. Abe said he would like to set up a council that would help make “a robotic revolution a reality in order to aid Japan’s growth.”

To be fair, this wouldn’t be the first time a robot competition has taken place on a large stage. Back in 2010, China organized a humanoid battle involving 16 events. There are also a number of other large robot events, including the RoboWorld Cup, the RoboGames and the DARPA Robotics Challenge.

Last month, 60 teams of students from around the world assembled for the 13th annual Marine Advance Technology Education Remotely Operated Vehicle International Competition at Michigan’s Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary to hold a competition for underwater robots.

Japan’s other robotic achievements include a news-reading robot, Kirobo the robot astronaut and a robotic bear to prevent snoring.

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Jason Hahn
Jason Hahn
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Jason Hahn is a part-time freelance writer based in New Jersey. He earned his master's degree in journalism at Northwestern…
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