RoboCup 2010: Could Robot versus Human Be Far Behind? [Slide Show]
Full-size biped robot strikers debut at this year's competition as human World Cup teams play on in South Africa
Credits: © ALDEBARAN ROBOTICS
GMU PROTOTYPE STRIKER George Mason University's RoboPatriots are a team of three humanoid robots presented by the Department of Computer Science. For this year's RoboCup, the team has added a stereo vision system; upgraded to stronger, faster and more durable motors; and streamlined its software architecture for speed and robustness... COURTESY OF CHRIS VO
CHARLI New this year is an "AdultSize" league. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University has entered CHARLI, a 1.5-meter-tall plastic and metal creation. CHARLI will have to locate the soccer ball, dribble it up the court, and kick it through the goal to win... COURTESY OF DENNIS HONG
PENALTY KICK The official ball is a Mylec orange street hockey ball. A penalty kick is carried out with one attacking robot and one opposing goal keeper. Other robots are powered off and stay outside of the field... COURTESY OF ALDEBARAN ROBOTICS
PLAY MAKER The Standard Platform League was called "Sony Four-Legged League" until RoboCup 2004, because it was organized by Sony and the Sony AIBO was the only robot allowed in that league... COURTESY OF ALDEBARAN ROBOTICS
CLEAN SHEET The soccer field is built on a total carpet area of length 7.4 meters and width 5.4 meters. All robot-visible lines on the soccer field (side lines, end lines, halfway line, centre circle, corner arcs, and the lines surrounding the penalty areas) are 50 millimeters in width... COURTESY OF ALDEBARAN ROBOTICS
AUTONOMOUS ATHLETE The RoboCup 2010 tournament currently underway includes a number of different robot soccer leagues that focus on different research challenges. The Standard Platform League is a RoboCup robot soccer league where all teams compete with identical Aldebaran Robotics NAO models, which operate fully autonomously... COURTESY OF ALDEBARAN ROBOTICS