The RoboCup is a globally significant scientific competition in which teams from around the world have been competing with self-developed soccer robots since 1997. This robotics soccer world championship gathers around 2,000 scientists every year. The team HULKs, consisting of TU students and alumni, has been participating in the RoboCup competitions for 13 years. The ambitious long-term goal of the RoboCup community: by 2050, robots should be able to beat the human soccer world champions.
The twelfth Robotic Hamburg Open Workshop (RoHOW) was all about change. Researchers, students, and teams from all over Germany and Europe had the opportunity to intensively discuss the latest developments in robot soccer for three days. And there were some major changes: until now, university and college teams outside the RoboCup participated in five different leagues. These are organized according to humanoid robots (Humanoid, Standard Platform), wheeled robots (Middle Size, Small Size), and simulated robots. Two of these leagues, the Humanoid League and the Standard Platform League (SPL), are now merging into the new Soccer League. The TU Hamburg team, the HULKs, has so far played in the SPL. This change means they have to switch their hardware and move to a larger soccer robot model – from the previously used Nao model to the larger Booster K1 model.
New Robots, New Challenges
Successfully making the transition to the new robot model as quickly and smoothly as possible was the main topic at RoHOW. The Booster K1 models are not only larger, they also provide significantly more computing power. Using the open-source programming language Rust and machine learning, the HULKs are currently working on improving the image recognition of their robots. For example, the robots should be able to reliably distinguish between the ball, other robots, and humans. In addition to switching to the new robots, the use of artificial intelligence, particularly for learning walking movements and shooting mechanics, played an important at this year’s workshop. The event featured numerous lectures, discussion rounds, and test matches with the new robots. For the first time, many presentations were also live-streamed for interested viewers worldwide. Another highlight was the participation of a team from the Small Size League – a league in which smaller, non-humanoid robots compete against each other.
To ensure there is time and space for exchange beyond the stressful competitions, the RoHOW was initiated by the HULKs in 2014. This year again, there was plenty of opportunity to converse and grow together as a community of robotics enthusiasts.
Anyone interested in joining Team HULKs can drop by every Wednesday at 3 p.m. at Schlossmühlendamm 30 in Harburg.
More information at www.hulks.de.
