Japan may be planning to bring sports of the future to the 2020 Olympics, with word that it will hold some robotic events.

Japan has been selected to host the 2020 Summer Games, and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe suggested it may include an event specifically for robots.

Meanwhile, an Australian team has taken out the World Cup for robot football.

The University of New South Wales team, rUNSWift, beat Germany 5-1 to take the title last week. Footage of the thrilling contest for techno-supremacy is accessible here.

The RoboCup sees teams using identical machines to out-program each other for international glory, but back in Japan the newest robo-sport is still being defined.

“I would like to gather all of the world’s robots and aim to hold an Olympics where they compete in technical skills,” Prime Minister Abe has told French media outlets.

“I would like to gather all of the world’s robots and aim to hold an Olympics where they compete in technical skills,” Abe has told French media outlets.

“We want to make robots a major pillar of our economic growth strategy.”

The comments came as part of a visit to robot production facilities in the Japanese city of Saitama last week, where factories are churning out robots to assist, enhance and even replace humans.

Japan is looking for robot help in a number of areas, including automated care for children and the elderly.

The Olympic event would not be the first robots-only competition.

The RoboCup, the RoboGames, the DARPA Robotics Challenge and the FIRST competition all pit androids and automatons circuit-to-sensor for mechanical supremacy.

In visits to robot production facilities, Prime Minister Abe also stressed the broad economic benefits available through advanced robotics.

“We would like to set up a council on making a robotic revolution a reality in order to aid Japan's growth,” he said.