RoboCup 2019 took place earlier this month down in Sydney, Australia. While there are many different events including RoboCup@Home, RoboCup Rescue, and a bunch of different soccer leagues, one of the most interesting events is middle-size league (MSL), where mobile robots each about the size of a fire hydrant play soccer using a regular size FIFA soccer ball. The robots are fully autonomous, making their own decisions in real time about when to dribble, pass, and shoot.
 
The long-term goal of RoboCup is this:
 
By the midst of the 21st century, a team of fully autonomous humanoid robot soccer players shall win a soccer game, complying with the official rules of FIFA, against the winner of the most past World Cup.
 
While the robots are certainly not there yet, they're surely getting closer.
 
Even if you’re not a particular fan of soccer, it’s significant to watch the robots coordinate with each other, setting up multi passes and changing tactics on the fly in response to the movements of the other team. And the ability of these robots to shoot precisely is world-class (like, human world-class), as they’re seemingly able to put the ball in whatever corner of the goal they choose with split-second timing.
 
While the robots are probably not there yet, they're undoubtedly getting closer.
 
Even if you’re not a particular fan of soccer, it’s amazing to watch the robots correlate with each other, setting up multiple passes and changing methods on the fly in response to the movements of the other team. And the means of these robots to shoot precisely is world-class (like, human world-class), as they’re seemingly able to put the ball in whatever corner of the goal they choose with split-second timing.
 



This article is originally post Tronserve.com