. 24/7 Space News .
ROBO SPACE
Australia's robo-footballers go for gold at world champs
by Staff Writers
Sydney (AFP) July 21, 2017


file image only

A roar rings out as a small, white robot wins a tussle for the ball and kicks it into the goal.

Australia's roboteers Friday put their bipedal humanoids through their paces ahead of the world championships in Japan next week with one task in mind -- to claim the RoboCup trophy for a record sixth time.

The contest is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, with the two key contenders from Australia and Germany, who have both won five championships each.

An even bigger goal looms ahead in 2050 with roboticists hoping to advance their development of artificial intelligence to the point where they can take on and beat the human World Cup champions.

"Every team has exactly the same robot, and it's all about who can come up with the best software to make the robots play soccer," team supervisor Timothy Wiley of the University of New South Wales (UNSW) told AFP.

"We've got a lot of expertise in what we call autonomous robotics. So this is getting robots to think and act for themselves, and this is what has allowed us to do really well over the last few years."

While the human version of the game has long used a black-and-white ball, the robots are still getting used to the monochrome colours.

"They introduced the black-and-white ball for 2016, and that's actually really difficult because the robots have no depth perception," first-time RoboCup participant and UNSW student Amri Chamela, 19, told AFP.

"So there's been a major challenge for the team in actually having to identify this (ball)."

This year, the Aussie robo-footballers -- named after Pokemon characters Eevee, Mew, Abra, Pikachu, Rapidash and Ditto -- also have to adapt to a bouncier artificial turf after years of playing on green carpet.

Team leader Hayden Smith believes the new challenges will ultimately pay off for the wider population, with the artificial intelligence being developed for such games set to assist humans in everyday tasks.

"This has a lot of real-world applications. We've had people in this team move on to... self-driving car companies, other robotics companies," the 24-year-old said.

"They take parts of either the vision system knowledge that they develop or knowledge of motion of how robots move and apply them in their occupational work."

The RoboCup World Championships are at the Nagoya International Exhibition Hall in Japan from July 27-30, with 24 teams from 15 nations competing.

ROBO SPACE
A robot that grows
Santa Barbara CA (SPX) Jul 21, 2017
At first glance, robots would appear to have exactly nothing in common with sweet peas or other climbing vines. Yet thanks to some innovative scientists, they now share at least one trait: the ability to extend their reach. Inspired by the growing action of plants and other living things, researchers at UC Santa Barbara and Stanford University have developed a tubular robot that - much lik ... read more

Related Links
All about the robots on Earth and beyond!


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

ROBO SPACE
NASA Offers Space Station as Catalyst for Discovery in Washington

Astronauts grow cucumbers in space to help scientists understand root growth

ULA to launch Dream Chaser for cargo runs to ISS for Sierra Nevada

Space Tourist From Asian Country to Travel to ISS in 2019

ROBO SPACE
ISRO Develops Ship-Based Antenna System to Track Satellite Launches

Elon Musk says successful maiden flight for Falcon Heavy unlikely

Russia to Supply Largest Ever Number of Space Rocket Engines to US This Year

Aerojet Rocketdyne tests Advanced Electric Propulsion System

ROBO SPACE
For Moratorium on Sending Commands to Mars, Blame the Sun

Tributes to wetter times on Mars

Opportunity will spend three weeks at current location due to Solar Conjunction

Curiosity Mars Rover Begins Study of Ridge Destination

ROBO SPACE
China develops sea launches to boost space commerce

Chinese satellite Zhongxing-9A enters preset orbit

Chinese Space Program: From Setback, to Manned Flights, to the Moon

Chinese Rocket Fizzles Out, Puts Other Launches on Hold

ROBO SPACE
ASTROSCALE Raises a Total of $25 Million in Series C Led by Private Companies

LISA Pathfinder: bake, rattle and roll

Iridium Poised to Make Global Maritime Distress and Safety System History

Korean Aerospace offices raided in anti-corruption probe

ROBO SPACE
Writing with the electron beam: Now in silver

Scientists announce the quest for high-index materials

A new synthesis route for alternative catalysts of noble metals

Synthetic materials systems that can "count" and sense their size

ROBO SPACE
A New Search for Extrasolar Planets from the Arecibo Observatory

Gulf of Mexico tube worm is one of the longest-living animals in the world

Molecular Outflow Launched Beyond Disk Around Young Star

Eyes Wide Open for MASCARA Exoplanet Hunter

ROBO SPACE
New Horizons Video Soars over Pluto's Majestic Mountains and Icy Plains

Juno spots Jupiter's Great Red Spot

New evidence in support of the Planet Nine hypothesis

NASA's New Horizons Team Strikes Gold in Argentina









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.