Battle of the Machines: Robocup 2016 Starts Tomorrow!

The Robocup 2016 will feature 3,500 participants from 400 countries and will feature robot soccer competitions, robot-based elderly care, and autonomous vehicles demonstrations, among others. The event runs June 30 until July 4.
ROBOTICS WORLD CUP

This year marks the 20th Robocup, featuring 3,500 participants: 500 teams from 40 countries. The cup takes place from June 30 until July 4th in Leipzig, Germany.

The event is a big one.  The competition allots 70 playing fields, ranging from six and 170 square meters in size, to ensure adherence to international standards and regulations of precision. In fact, the soccer competitions alone have been allocated 2,200 square meters of playing fields.

Robocup is a truly international event. The Leipziger Messe (Leipzig Trade Fair) has issued more than 800 visa invitation letters specifically for the cup.


THE FIFA CHALLENGE AND MORE

According to the website, “ever since 1997, the RoboCup Federation has been pursuing its objective of developing intelligent humanoid soccer-playing robots which by 2050 will be able to beat the current FIFA champions.” This does sound ambitious, but Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences professor, Gerhard Kraetzschmar, echoes the same message in his welcome note for the Robocup this year: “By 2050, a team of fully autonomous humanoid robot soccer players shall win a soccer game, played according to official rules of FIFA, against the winner of the most recent FIFA World Cup.”

The competition has been broadening their categories far beyond the field of soccer through the years. The website boasts, “Additional application disciplines addressing diverse societal needs such as intelligent robots as assistants for rescue missions, in households and in industrial production have been added during the last few years.” These additions include robot-based elderly care, autonomous vehicles, and disaster response.

For those who are interested in attending the event, you can buy your tickets here. Additionally, for the aspiring next generation of scientists and engineers, there is also RobocupJunior to help kick-start inventive thinking and discovery in young people.