The only thing Robotic American Football and real American football have in common is risk of injury.

When my brother and I were young we used to get on opposite sides of the kitchen and slam our matchbox cars into high-speed, head-on collisions. Our mom didn’t think it made much sense.

Which is the same feeling I get as I watch these Japanese robots “play” American Football by flying pell-mell into each other in a crash ‘em up frenzy. The robots play with a miniature football and the object is to carry the ball in a trap on top of the robot and get it across a goal line. I don’t expect that happens very often.

Just as Americans love their sport, the organizers of Robot American Football in Yokohama, Japan take their game seriously and have created a detailed list of rules, but I really can’t tell if the robots are following them or not. Whereas RoboCup does well to emulate soccer, Robot American Football looks more like a cross between a crash derby and air hockey. But if this 7th annual tournament drives robotics developers to create better solutions to achieve a task, no matter the task it sounds like a score to me.

[image credit: PatricProduction via YouTube]
[video credit: PatricProduction via YouTube]
images: Robotic Football
video: Robotic Football

The speedy Stepper 3D is sure to test the field at RoboCup 2011 this July.

If you’re going to get past the Christiano Ronaldos of the world, you’re going to have to run fast. In all probability the developers of the Stepper 3D humanoid robot at Tsinghua University aren’t setting their sights quite so high, but the new robot’s walking speed should have its fellow competitors at this year’s RoboCup shaking in their aluminum alloy footplates.

The video below was released by Tsinghua University’s Robotics and Automation Laboratory and shows off Stepper 3D, the latest from their Robot Walking Group that they plan to enter in this year’s Robotic World Cup Initiative. The Initiative–or RoboCup–is an annual conference that pits internationally-grown robot competitors against each other in a soccer tournament. Everyone knows you need speed on the soccer field, and that’s what Stepper 3D has along with agility and balance. As you’ll see in the omnidirectional walking demonstration, Stepper 3D’s ability to change directions on the fly is impressive and it’s a major improvement over RoboCup competitors of the past.

The powerful gait is generated by a parallel double crank mechanism with 10 degrees of freedom for each lower limb. The technology for Stepper 3D was developed with a torso-less version called Stepper Senior. Showing off its omnidirectional skills in the next two videos, Stepper Senior can clock speeds of 0.65 meters per second. The first time I saw the video I was struck by how human the motions appeared. The smoothness of the gait is a–pardon me–big step forward from the stilted jerks of most bipedal robots. The robots of the future will need to walk as they help us at home and at work, and as they help the disabled and the elderly. The smooth, human-like gait tells me that progress is being made at least on flat surfaces.

I can just picture one of the Steppers 3D getting the ball on mid-stride and dashing down the sideline past his opponent who–walks slower.

Okay, the action’s not going to be blazing fast. For now humans are still faster. But Team Tsinghua is definitely going to need to step up their game as they didn’t fare so well the last time they showed at RoboCup 2009. Their band of TH-MOS robots got destroyed 10-0 by the German-built FUmanoids. The FUmanoids, of course, are nothing to sneeze at as they’ve placed second in the last two RoboCups. I wonder if the FUmanoids or other competitors have similarly been infused with a sudden pep in their step. Maybe they haven’t and Team Tsinghua released the videos to send a message as a form of robot developer trash talking but instead of something like Kevin Garnett shooting off at the mouth it’s a video of robots walking really fast.

I love the idea behind RoboCup: using the game of soccer to develop robotics and promote science and technology. The robots operate autonomously during play, utilizing programs that determine how they will find the ball, control the ball, and score a goal. The games are also fun to watch. This year’s contest takes place in Istanbul between July 5 and July 11. The great thing is that RoboCup is just one of several ongoing competitions that use competitive soccer as an arena for robotics development. They’re great systems to competitively tap the creativity and genius of developers.

RoboCup’s ultimate mission is to generate robots that can beat humans at a soccer match by the year 2050. I agree with fellow Hub writer Aaron Saenz, however, that by the time the robot footballers are capable of beating humans, soccer play will be the least interesting of their skills. Although, getting past Chrinstiano Ronaldo for the first time would definitely make headlines. Heck, it may very well impress his girlfriend. That, undoubtedly, would be another first for robotics developers.

[video credits: HelloMac720 via youtube]
video 1: Stepper 3D
video 2: Senior Stepper 1
video 3: Senior Stepper 2

Bots gathered in Singapore last month to test their soccer skills in RoboCup 2010.

With all the excitement surrounding this year’s World Cup, another important soccer competition didn’t receive the attention it rightfully deserves. Last month saw the return of RoboCup! This annual conference allows robots from all over the world compete to see who is the best on the soccer pitch. There are leagues for bots of all different shapes and sizes from tiny swarms on wheels to humanoid bipeds lumbering after the ball. While these bots can’t bend it like Beckham yet, they are getting better. This was the first year with adult-sized robots squaring off on the field. Competition organizers aim to have their automated teams capable of defeating the best human players by 2050. That’s an ambitious goal.  We’ve got some great videos and pictures for you after the break.

RoboCup chose to use soccer as the basis of their competition because it’s a fun sport that developers could rally behind, but also because the skills inherent to the game can be applied in many other areas. Every robot on the field is autonomous, working from a program to handle the different possible situations on the field. Finding an object (the ball), moving towards it, and carefully manipulating it towards a destination (the goal) is a software routine that has applications in everything from industry to space exploration. In fact, RoboCup has expanded in recent years to include competition in areas like household robotics, education, and rescue. Eventually the skills that teams develop for the soccer pitch are going to allow them to build robots that can work in a variety of fields. In the meantime, the robot footballers are a lot of fun to watch.

Here’s a great overview of RoboCup 2010 in Singapore from IEEE Spectrum:

In the RoboRescue competition, scale sized courses are designed to simulate real-world environments. Robots compete to see who can retrieve victims and bring them to safety as quickly as possible without further injury. Barrels are used to represent humans. Is that insulting? Not sure. But I do hope that when a rescue robot comes to save me from a burning building it doesn’t confuse me with a trash can.

If you were wondering what an actual full-length robot soccer game looks like, here’s the final match in the kid-sized humanoid competition. Last years champions, the Darmstadt Dribblers, defeated the FUmanoids (both are German teams).

As you can see, bipedal robot soccer games are much like human games – long periods of tedium punctuated by moments of great excitement. Some humanoid bots can perform daring dives to block a shot, or mid-field kicks that score, but most of their competition involves long periods of time where robots take tiny steps towards the ball. As we’ve seen with other robots, bipedal motion is still a very difficult challenge in its own right. Getting bipedal bots to play ball without falling over is an accomplishment.

If you want a much faster game, check out the small-sized league finals. Wheeled bots compete with fast reflexes and interesting cooperative strategies.

RoboCup may be one of the biggest competitions of its kind, but it’s far from alone. As we’ve discussed before, there are dozens of robot soccer competitions all around the world. While none of these events has revealed a team of robots that could go head to head with humans, progress is being made. This is the first year that full grown (adult-sized) bipedal robots competed in RoboCup soccer. Strategies in the virtual, standardized, and wheeled leagues are getting more impressive. Looking at the growing worldwide interest in robot soccer, and the progress that’s already been made, it’s easy to believe that we will one day have bots that put human players to shame on the field.

The only question is when…is 2050 a good estimate? Developers are dividing the problem into different parts. Standardized bots like the Nao allow programmers to really concentrate on soccer software while other teams keep innovating and expanding the capabilities of the hardware. We could have robots capable of human-like feats in the next few decades. But at that point, soccer really becomes a side issue. Once a robot can walk and talk like us, we’re going to be much more interested in it rescuing victims from disasters, helping the elderly in their homes, and other useful applications. So enjoy RoboCup soccer while you can. By the time the bots get really good, they’ll be seeking other lines of work.

This year saw the beginning of the adult-sized league. These humanoid bots were pretty slow, and there were only about half a dozen teams. Eh...it's a start.

Always a favorite, Nao robots compete in the standardized leagues. Every robot is off-the-shelf, but their programming is anything from ordinary.

You can find more great pics from RoboCup 2010 in the organization’s photo gallery.

[image credits: Virginia Tech, RoboCup.org]
[video credits: IEEE Spectrum, BotSportTV, Pan JMP, CheekyMartz]
[source: RoboCup2010]

NAO that's what we call fun!

Earlier on Singularity Hub, we covered the RoboGames.  That was all well and good, with smashing and melee and some soccer to boot, but the six-year old RoboGames tradition is not the final word in mechanized competition.  The RoboCup has been an annual feature since 1997 and, in true international spirit, has taken place all over the globe from the USA to China.  This year’s Cup was held in Graz, Austria this past weekend and while SOME EDITORS wouldn’t shell out for plane tickets to get some ring-side action, we have still compiled a healthy host of highlights for all to enjoy.

While the RoboGames boasts many different competitions, the RoboCup is much more focused on a few key events.  As is European custom, soccer is a mainstay of the Cup.  There are a few different categories including small size, medium size, standard platform and humanoid leagues.  A simulation league is also offered, being played in a virtual world for those who wish to focus solely on programming the artificial intelligence.

All leagues are solely autonomous, placing a great amount of emphasis on creating the correct algorithm to make the robots as formidable as possible.  In the standard platform league, every entrant uses the same Nao robot.  In the other leagues competitors design, build and program their own robots according to the published rules.  Take a look at the humanoid league preliminary match to get a feel for the gameplay:

Soccer is not the only fixture of the RoboCup.  There is also a search and rescue design competition called RoboCup Rescue, where entrants must design a robot capable of entering hazardous and dangerous locations.  The robots are placed in a foreign terrain and allowed to search for dummies hidden in the wreckage while creating a virtual map of the entire locale.  While it might not be as exciting as soccer, this footage of a rescue mission is still a great feat of robotics and engineering.

Finally, there is a competition intended at getting the robot to be a bit more domestic.  The RoboCup@home entrants must design and build a robot that will help support humans in every-day life.  In preliminary action, the robots abilities are shown to judges.  If they deem the robot has what it takes, it is sent to the final round where it is placed in an apartment of undisclosed layout and set to do a series of tasks.

All of these events also have a junior version, meant for children and teenagers under the age of 19.  The events are a bit easier (soccer balls emit infrared light and rescue robots are to follow a painted line), but still pose a formidable challenge to the geniuses of tomorrow.  The footage is gripping and the competition fun.  Take a look at this video for some highlights of all events this year.

Between the RoboGames and the RoboCup, it seems that robotic competition is on the rise.  It is only a matter of time before advancements in the competitive world are implemented into the real world and robotic search and rescue becomes a standard procedure for all major disasters.  Robots are becoming increasingly agile and intelligent, being able to discern teammate from opposition and to find objects in an obstacle course.  Perhaps these robotic designs are not quite suitable for everyday applications but, with every year of the RoboCup, design improvements inch them ever closer to that point.

Nao SmoothMove Dance