Beijing-bound World Robotics Championship to feature a Portuguese squad
The Robotic Football World Cup 2021, a significant event in the RoboCup initiative, is underway in Beijing. This competition aims to advance artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics by developing soccer-playing robots that can progressively approach and eventually surpass human-level performance in football.
The event features various leagues, such as the 3D Soccer Simulation League, enabling teams worldwide to test AI algorithms and robot coordination in a simulated soccer environment without the need for physical robot hardware.
The main objectives of the participants are to foster research and development in AI and intelligent robotics through competitive soccer, create autonomous robot teams capable of cooperating, strategizing, and playing football at high levels, and, long-term, to develop robots that can beat human World Cup soccer champions by 2050.
In 2021, teams from many countries, including universities and research groups specialised in robotics and AI, are participating. China, with a particularly strong presence throughout the RoboCup history, continues its dominance with multiple teams, including Tsinghua University and China Agricultural University.
Advancements in AI include the use of advanced visual sensors and algorithms enabling robots to perceive their environment, track the ball, and teammates. Enhanced robot mobility allows for standing up after falls and executing complex movements like running, kicking, and strategy-driven gameplay. Machine learning, reinforcement learning, and multi-agent cooperation techniques are employed within both simulated and physical robot soccer leagues. Simulation leagues like 3D Soccer Sim allow for experimentation with AI decision-making and team coordination without hardware constraints.
The competition is an international event, with teams from Portugal, such as the University of Minho, also participating. Professor Fernando Ribeiro, who oversees the Portuguese team's programming, states that the objective of robotic football is to develop technology. The robots in the competition can commit fouls, make saves, and score goals.
As the competition begins on the 15th of this month, it serves as a matter of pride for those involved. The robots can get up on their own after a foul, and the Portuguese team has programmed the robots to locate and follow the ball. Robotics, according to Professor Ribeiro, is the future. China is hosting the World Cup for football-playing robots, a testament to the country's growing influence in the field.
Technology and artificial-intelligence are closely integrated in the Robotic Football World Cup 2021, as teams from around the world, including Portugal's University of Minho, employ advanced visual sensors, algorithms, machine learning, reinforcement learning, and multi-agent cooperation techniques to develop robots capable of committing fouls, making saves, and scoring goals. The objective of the competition, as stated by Professor Fernando Ribeiro, is not merely to create robots that can play sports like football, but to foster research and development in technology.
