Robot soccer players -- like their human counterparts -- sometimes dive in the penalty box.
The University of Newcastle's robot soccer team was a starring attraction at the CeBIT technology conference in Sydney on Tuesday. Developed in the Newcastle Robotics Laboratory, the team have won multiple titles at the robot-version of the soccer World Cup, RoboCup, which is held in different cities each year.
They are still working on their skills, though.
He scores! (But then falls) #CeBITAus https://t.co/7NqwH3VaKB
— Ariel Bogle (@arielbogle) May 5, 2015
Stephan Chalup, Associate Professor in Computer Science and Software Engineering and head of the lab, told Mashable Australia the school has had a robot soccer team since 2002.
Their current model is a humanlike biped, Chalup said, so building the robot can tell researchers a lot about how the human body works.
Developing a robot soccer team can also have implications for other technology, he added. The soccer team is fully autonomous. Each robot has its own "brain" and can make its own decisions, so it employs software that will be useful for autonomous cars.
The lab is even looking at developing them as companion robots for aged care -- adding a little emotional artificial intelligence first, of course.
Chalup said the ultimate goal is to have human-sized robots play against a human team by 2050.
Stephan Chalup, head of @Uni_Newcastle's robotics lab, shows me some early competitors. #CeBITAus pic.twitter.com/MQGk7CR88v
— Ariel Bogle (@arielbogle) May 5, 2015
The full setup. #CeBITAus pic.twitter.com/iFhTtHKjqV
— Ariel Bogle (@arielbogle) May 5, 2015
These little guys are expensive, so it is sometimes better to keep them on a leash.
Gotta return to the soccer playing robots. Robot on a lead! #CeBITAus pic.twitter.com/ILPcG5lqel
— Ariel Bogle (@arielbogle) May 5, 2015
Robot on a lead is doing a bit better. #CeBITAus https://t.co/nS5bymjy9k
— Ariel Bogle (@arielbogle) May 5, 2015
One more time.
He scores! (But then falls) #CeBITAus https://t.co/7NqwH3VaKB
— Ariel Bogle (@arielbogle) May 5, 2015