Usain Bolt, Michael Phelps and the rest may well have left London behind some time ago, but the spirit of the Olympic Games is alive and kicking in Bristol, in south-east England. That's because the city is currently hosting 26 teams from various locations around the world for the purpose of the FIRA RoboWorld Cup.
The innovative event will see robots participate in a broad range of events, including football and basketball. RoboWorld Cup has been a regular event in the technology world, but organisers have confirmed that they expect to see a record number of 'athletes' at this year's edition.
In the robot equivalent of the sprint race, the robots will not be asked to cover the traditional 100 metres and the Singaporean participant is the early favourite - apparently. Dr Guido Herrmann told the BBC that the best robots are capable of covering the distance in 32 seconds. "It is three metres [9ft 10in] forward and three metres back," he explained.
The marathon event, meanwhile, will see participants cover 42 metres and there is to be a local entry in the shape of Panther, which has been developed at the University of Britsol. Team member David Pollard explained that he is looking forward to the start of the event, but isn't expecting too much in the way of fast times.
"To be honest we'd just be happy to finish the race. At the moment our robot isn't walking very well," Mr Pollard explained to the news provider.