Category Archives: Journey

RoboCup 2026 Recap

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Greetings from South Korea! RoboCup is already over by now, and the team can be very satisfied with its performance.

The group stage began with a match against TIGERs. Since a lot of new hardware was built in the hotel and the new radio system was being tested on a large scale for the first time, excitement was high. It was a very exciting game in which TIGERs couldn’t show their best side, as they struggled heavily with network issues. The vision and game controller packets are distributed across the field network via multicast to certain groups, but exactly these multicast groups were not being managed correctly. As a result, the TIGERs actually had a few moments of weakness, which we unfortunately couldn’t exploit, and the game ended 0-0.

The next day, things continued right in the morning against Ri-One. Against the 2024 Division B World Champions, we were able to prevail 2-0. The next opponent that day was RoboDragons. Unfortunately, the schedule was quite mixed up because some games took significantly longer than expected, which is why this match took place on a Division B field. Initially, we struggled a lot with problems regarding the calibrated field geometry. Some values were set incorrectly and confused our strategy. We were able to quickly communicate this to the referee and get it fixed, after which the game ran rather smoothly. We managed to secure a narrow 1-0 victory.

Thus, we emerged from the group in second place, tied on points with TIGERs, who only edged us out with a better goal difference. We started the knockout phase in the Upper Bracket; our first opponent was KIKS from Japan. We won decisively here as well with a 6-1 score. It was one of the few SSL games that didn’t end in a shutout. KIKS’s goal was well deserved, beautifully set up, and poorly defended by us at the crucial moment due to a tiny radio dropout on a key center back.

Moving further along in the Upper Bracket, our next opponent was RoboCîn. Notorious for their aggressive driving style, characterized by many hard collisions, we were already fearing for our robots. The match turned out to be a nail-biter. After regular time the score was 0-0, just as it was after extra time. So it went to a penalty shootout and remained tense. But after three saved shots and one goal for both teams, we were able to clinch the game 2-1 on the fifth penalty. [1]

Next, we played against TIGERs. By this time, the field setup had been switched from multicast to broadcast to permanently resolve the network issues. Both teams played very well; it was an incredibly fluid, exciting, and balanced game, where ER-Force also managed to get some shots on the Mannheim goal. Unfortunately, 2 of the Tigers’ shots made it through, so it ended 2-0. It was probably one of the most beautiful games of the tournament; overall, the match lasted only 30 minutes, which speaks volumes for both teams.

Final day. First against RoboCîn, then the winner against TIGERs in the Grand Final. After the beautiful 2-0 defeat, the team was already mentally picturing a scoring chance or two. But first up was Cîn. Like us, the Brazilians were not idle overnight and were able to change quite a bit about their driving style. Consequently, it was a much smoother game with fewer fouls. Unfortunately, they were able to take the lead through a shot that was incredibly bungled by our defense. Even though there were some chances, we couldn’t follow up and thus were eliminated from the tournament 0-1, finishing in third place.

In the final against TIGERs, they were then beaten 5-0. With this, TIGERs Mannheim has reached 1st place in the Hall of Fame with 6 World Championship titles!

However, we still see third place as a huge victory. The robots survived the entire tournament electronically and mechanically without any notable losses. The firmware and control systems have also reached a stable level. Together with the new radio system—which still has some minor teething troubles but offers a clear path forward—the current generation forms a solid foundation for next year!

With that, the big event of the year comes to an end once again. After a great Major Party and a well-deserved sleep-in, the team is now taking some vacation time in Korea and Japan before we catch our return flight.

Traveling to Brazil

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The long wait is finally over. RoboCup 2025 is just around the corner – and, as always, the journey there is rarely easy, but always exciting! While most people in Erlangen were still wrestling with the final preparations for RoboCup, Tobi was already on his way to beautiful Brazil to help with setup on site. The calm before the storm, you could say.

 

Part of our team met on Saturday, July 12, 2025, in the early morning hours at Nuremberg Central Station. With tired eyes but full of anticipation, we headed towards Munich Airport via the ever-popular Deutsche Bahn. There, as planned, we met up with the rest of the group at 8 a.m. After check-in, we proceeded to the security check – which, surprisingly, went almost smoothly. Thanks to good preparation and our team’s persuasive skills (supported by a trailer about us, which will be online soon!), we were well-equipped. Our main stars – the robots – passed through security without any issues.

 

The first flight was a rough one: turbulence, a hard landing, and a fully
 booked plane – typical Lisbon.
Stopover in Lisbon

Stopover in Lisbon

But the best moment was a funny coincidence: we ran into our colleagues from the SPL team up north – the Hulks! Now we were on the same flight and had a really pleasant exchange. That’s RoboCup for you – it brings people together. After a short stay in Lisbon – including one or two much-needed coffees – we continued our journey. Well, not quite immediately. We had to put up with a one-hour delay before we were finally able to board the plane to beautiful Salvador. A little after 11 p.m. local time, we finally heard: Bem-vindo ao Brasil! One last suitcase took its time, but eventually we boarded our team bus – a.k.a. the airport shuttle – and headed to the hotel.

BuGa 2023: Conclusion

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As the tournament at the Bundesgartenshow (BuGa) is now coming to an end and we have secured an excellent second place, we’d like to take a moment to reflect on our journey.

Compared to the RoboCup 2023 in Bordeaux, we were able to significantly improve our performance with the new robots: The radio communication issues have been completely resolved, and our robots executed their driving commands as precisely as they haven’t in years. This clearly demonstrates the advantage of robust industrial solutions like the HBC radio system compared to our previous custom solutions.

The motor board problems have also nearly disappeared as a result. The theory here is as follows: When our robots don’t receive radio signals, they shut down all wheel modules as a safety measure to avoid being a hazard to people and themselves. However, this also results in an abrupt shutdown of all wheel motors, and the remaining current circulating through them, due to the electrical principle of inductance, which dictates that current through electric motors cannot cease instantaneously, can lead to defects in the Motor Controller Boards.

So, when we have radio communication issues, the modules are regularly and unexpectedly shut down. When everything works smoothly, the activation and deactivation maneuvers are carefully controlled at the beginning and end of a game: The motors are brought to a halt by the AI, and then the modules are shut down.

Aside from these two issues, the new robots required very little maintenance—compared to their predecessor generation as well. Only some motor connectors showed problems on the board side: It seems that the through-hole connections of the pads are breaking, causing the power lines on the Power Distribution Board to detach from the motor. We were able to prove this through resistance measurements.

Since we also had problems with our shooting board (same PCB manufacturer)—back then, the solder mask had peeled off from almost all traces at certain spots—we seriously need to consider switching to a different PCB manufacturer.

Nevertheless, it was an excellent tournament that reinvigorated not only our robots but also the spirits of many team members. The enthusiasm is clearly noticeable among all the present members. The positive developments of the other teams since the RoboCup—especially RoboTeam Twente, whose performance improved drastically over the last month—have further fueled our members’ motivation. And so, after the final match, we actively joined the other teams in dismantling the tournament.

We are already looking forward to competing against all the amazing teams at the next European event. It was a pleasure playing against them this weekend. And so, we bid you a heartfelt farewell from the BuGa!

BuGa 2023: Game Schedule

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Group Stage (Saturday, 12.08.2023)

Points Table

Platz Team Spiele Punkte Torverhältnis
1 TIGERs Mannheim 3 9 21:0 21
2 ER-Force 3 6 13:1 12
3 Immortals 3 3 3:20 -17
4 RoboTeam Twente 3 0 0:16 -16

Results

Time Match Article Stream Final Score
10:00 AM ER-Force vs. TIGERs Mannheim Article 00:01
11:30 AM Immortals vs. TIGERs Mannheim Article 00:10
01:00 PM ER-Force vs. RoboTeam Twente Article 03:00
02:30 PM ER-Force vs. Immortals Article 10:00
04:00 PM TIGERs Mannheim vs. RoboTeam Twente Article 10:00
05:30 PM RoboTeam Twente vs. Immortals Article 00:03

Knockout Stage (Sunday, 07.07.2023)

Time Match Article Stream Final Score
11:00 AM TIGERs Mannheim vs. RoboTeam Twente Article 10:00
12:30 PM ER-Force vs. Immortals Article 01:00
14:30 Uhr TIGERs Mannheim vs. ER-Force Article Livestream 03:00

BuGa 2023: TIGERs Mannheim vs. ER-Force

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It feels like it was just yesterday when we played the first game of this tournament. Well, it was actually just yesterday. But still, time has passed very quickly, and now we’re just about to start the final game.

As expected, TIGERs delivered a very confident and dominant performance, much like during the RoboCup in Bordeaux. They mostly managed to dominate their opponents. However, they couldn’t score against us; we only lost due to an own goal.

First Half

05:00 The game starts with less than 5 minutes delay, the arena is full. TIGERs play in yellow, ER-Force in blue.
04:43 And a shot on goal right away by TIGERs Mannheim, but initially, we can defend. However, as the attacks persisted, it eventually happened: Goal for TIGERs.
TIGERs Mannheim 1 : 0 ER-Force
04:05 After several more attempts on our goal, two of our robots get stuck near our penalty area. Getting stuck here is very understated; they got along very well. As a result, there are ball placements for ER-Force, but both teams fail to place the ball.
03:06 More attacks on our goal follow, but our team can hold up magnificently.
02:30 Now we strengthen, putting pressure on TIGERs’ defenders with many attacks. However, the attack is eventually stopped, and our robot is mobbed by 5 Mannheim bots as punishment, gathering around and practically squeezing it.
01:47 Now the attack is again primarily in our half, and unfortunately, it ends successfully again: Goal by Mannheim with a shot from an acute angle past our goalkeeper!
TIGERs Mannheim 2 : 0 ER-Force
01:16 Another attack by us on Mannheim’s goal, but unfortunately, the ball narrowly misses the target. That could have been something; the goalkeeper wasn’t quite there yet!
00:28 Currently, the game is somewhat stuck in one of our corners. Both teams fail at ball placement; our robot even has its back to the ball while trying to place it, which is an interesting ball placement strategy.
00:17 And the ball is kicked out of the field again, but this time by us.
-00:17 After a cheeky move where instead of passing to our own robot, we pass to a Mannheim robot, the first half ends rather uneventfully.
00:00 Although we’re two goals behind, we don’t need to hide at the moment. After all, Mannheim still manages to sweep away weaker and even strong teams 10:0 in the first half. Additionally, our defense has been very solid, making it very difficult for TIGERs to find the gap. We’ve seen some interesting attacks from us, so we’re really hoping to catch up in the second half!

Second Half

05:00 The second half kicks off; TIGERs has ER-Force.
04:07 After crashing into a TIGERs bot for the second time and previously shooting the ball over the boards, we now receive a yellow card and can only play with 5 robots for the next two minutes.
04:07 Again, the corner poses a problem, none of the robots can reach the ball. It seems the 45° ramps, usually placed in the corners, were forgotten. Getting the ball out of 90° corners is practically impossible given the size of SSL robots.
02:06 The robots of both teams often get stuck in a duel, leading to many situations ending with Lack of Progress. At least our penalty time has expired without danger.
01:35 TIGERs had to change a robot, probably because the battery is empty. A characteristic here is the constant clicking of the plunger when the robot discharges from shooting.
01:27 And this time, TIGERs Mannheim shoots the ball out of the field, but luckily I could collect it right away, and the game continues quickly.
01:08 Strong attack by us, but our back pass to one of our colleagues goes wide. The ensuing counter-attack by TIGERs becomes quite dangerous, but one of our robots solves the problem, risking a foul (touching the ball in the penalty area). Unfortunately, this results in a penalty kick for TIGERs!
01:03 Unfortunately, the Mannheim robot scores the penalty, so there’s a goal for TIGERs following the penalty kick!
TIGERs Mannheim 3 : 0 ER-Force
-00:16 A very intense situation against us! Mannheim’s robots are in our half and even shoot at the goal, but the ball misses the target by a few centimeters.
00:00 Overall, this was a very exciting final game, even though the second half was rather quiet. Our play was very enjoyable to watch, and we defended very solidly. The progress of the last 4 weeks was clearly visible, and the trend for the next weeks and months is clearly set!