Set aside your fears of world-dominating cyborgs and say hello to Hajime 33, an athletic robot who’s about as tall as Kobe Bryant. Granted, this bot plays soccer, not basketball (yet).

Created by Hajime Sakamoto, Hajime 33 is the latest addition to Sakamoto’s fleet of humanoid robots. Powered by batteries, the robot is controlled with a PS3 controller, and it can walk and kick a ball. Hajime 33 weighs in at just 44 pounds while overlooking his creator at more than 6 feet 5 inches tall.

At first glance, Hajime 33 isn’t exactly graceful when it comes to our standards of, well, being a human. And his soccer skills are a far cry from Beckham’s — he can barely kick the ball, let alone bend it. However, the aesthetics and intelligence of Sakamoto’s robots are advancing him closer to his dream of “building Gundam.” It’ll be at least 10 years before Sakamato creates a giant, Gundam-like robot, but soccer is a start. One can only imagine what Hajime 33 can do to groins. Ouch.

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[via Robots Dreams]