Toyota builds world's first hydrogen-powered autonomous soccer robot
Toyota has built a new hydrogen-powered robot named "Pixi" that is capable of kicking a soccer ball. The robot's development was led by the Toyota Engineering Society (TES), a group within the company focused on exploring new technologies.
The robot's design included sensors used in assisted driving technologies, and it wore a cape made from excess airbag material, giving it a humanoid appearance.
The robot faced challenges during development, but the team overcame them, and Pixi eventually achieved a top speed of 53 mph (85 kph) when kicking the soccer ball.
TES aims to ignite a "monozukuri" (making of things) spirit in its team members and improve their technical skills through projects like building a robotic soccer player.
Toyota has a history of exploring robotics and has previously created robots like a basketball-playing robot and a garbage-collecting fish robot.
