CHINA-ROBOTS/FOOTBALL COMPETITION Australian team crowned robot world cup champions

Record ID: 149253

  • Title: CHINA-ROBOTS/FOOTBALL COMPETITION Australian team crowned robot world cup champions
  • Date: 22nd July 2015
  • Summary: HEFEI, ANHUI PROVINCE, CHINA (JULY 22, 2015) (REUTERS) STANDARD SOCCER ROBOTS WALKING ONTO FIELD STANDARD SOCCER ROBOTS ON FIELD STANDARD SOCCER ROBOT WALKING AND KICKING BALL STANDARD SOCCER ROBOT FALLING DOWN AND GETTING UP STANDARD SOCCER ROBOT SHOOTING AND ANOTHER STANDARD GOALKEEPER ROBOT SAVING BALL PEOPLE WATCHING STANDARD SOCCER ROBOT SHOOTING STANDARD SOCCER ROBOT
  • Embargoed: 6th August 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: China
  • Country: China
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA26JV2OJXY2FNEVQUS5APFUADM
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: An Australian team was crowned robot world cup champions at 19th RoboCup games in China on Wednesday (July 22), winning a competition that saw teams from around the world battle it out on the football field using the latest in programming technology.
    The competition, now in its 19th year, saw more than 300 teams from 47 counties participate, Chinese state media reported.
    For the main competition, the teams run their own programmes on a standard 58 cm-tall robot. Once the competition starts, the robots are on their own, with the teams not allowed to interfere with the programming.
    "They tell everyone else where they are on the field and where the ball is. And they make decisions. Maybe one player will play goalkeeper and another player says I'm the closest to the ball. I'm going to kick it and someone else says I'll pass here, I'm standing here or things like that. They try and position around the field and things like that. And then they share all that information - everybody knows what everyone else is doing," said Sean Harris, one of the members of the winning team from the University of New South Wales.
    Harris reckoned the secret to his team's success was speed.
    "Everyone has the same robots. So it's all about how you program them and the intelligence. But we are fast. We have a really fast walk. So we are fast, we get to the ball first. And we can play in the direction we want to. So that's really advantageous to us to be fast and that's what wins us most of the games. It's being fast.," he said.
    In addition to the standard robots, competitions for medium sized and humanoid robots were also run.
    The aim of the competition is to encourage the development of robotics technology to a point at which a robot team can beat a human by the middle of the 21st century, Chinese broadcaster CCTV said.
    While not quite at that stage yet, Wednesday's audience still found the games exciting.
    "What impresses me most is that when the robots are knocked down, they can get up by themselves as well as their goals and other exciting moments. All that left an impression," said 22-year-old Jin Tao.
    Aside from football, the competition also showcases other developments in robotics such as search and rescue, and uses in human society.
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